There is nothing in Ohio law that authorizes school personnel to remove the clothing of children. Strip searches far exceeded the authority or even need in this case.

What happened to these students is a travesty. The school had no right to conduct these searches.

Realistic toy guns put in jeopardy the lives of New Yorkers, especially children and law enforcement personnel. It's a matter we take quite seriously and would want to look into.

The school had several opportunities to prevent this situation. They could have called the police to report the theft, they could have let the two young women check their vehicles to confirm they did not leave the items in them and they could have called parents to inform them of the thefts and any action they were considering. The administration did none of those things, instead choosing to humiliate and violate 20 teenagers by conducting intrusive illegal searches.

Programs such as this almost always prove to be ineffective in gathering information on possible terrorists. Even though they are created with the best of intentions, they only serve to reinforce stereotypes and cause innocent people to be subjected to government scrutiny.

Law enforcement officials have told us there is no reason to believe the school children were involved. They are both very young students.