CHARLEVOIX -- A local American Civil Liberties Union chapter wants Charlevoix Public Schools to adopt clear policies for searches and lockdowns after a search it said infringed on students' rights.
The ACLU of Michigan's Northwestern Branch in Suttons Bay this week wrote school Superintendent Chet Janik and Charlevoix County Sheriff Don Schneider in relation to a May 2008 incident at Charlevoix High School.
The ACLU alleges the lockdown -- commonly practiced in schools for incidents in which safety is threatened -- violated students' constitutional rights to expedite a vandalism investigation.
"It did upset a number of not only students, but parents," said Steve Morse, chairman of the ACLU branch's legal committee. "The parents have been seeking some kind of resolution."
Janik disputed the ACLU's version of the events and intends to respond.
About 400 high school students were locked down for about three hours on May 21, 2008, after vandalism was reported to a house that building trades students were constructing, according to the letter. The sheriff's department was called and students' hands, clothing and shoes were searched for paint. Students allegedly did not know the reason for the lockdown.
Under the law, police agencies must have probable cause when searching students in a criminal case, but school administrators need only to have reasonable suspicion they committed a crime.
Neither were present in this case, Morse said.
"Although a building on school property had been vandalized, there was no reason to believe that the physical safety of anyone on school property was threatened," the letter states. "And there was surely no probable cause to believe that the entire student body was involved in criminal activity."
Janik challenged some of the ACLU's allegations -- specifically the length of time of the incident and that students were barred from using restrooms.
A student who graduated in 2008 was charged and is scheduled for a June trial, he said. He declined to comment on specifics because of the ongoing criminal case.
"In my personal opinion, we did not have a lockdown," Janik said. "They're making a lot of assumptions of the facts."
Morse said a meeting between the parties is encouraged to clear up discrepancies. Students and parents reported the information cited by the ACLU, he said.
