MADISON (NBC 26) — A Wisconsin bill banning student strip searches has been signed into law.
Rep. David Steffen (R-Howard) made the announcement Friday.
The legislation is in response to an incident at Suring School District. Several students were searched down to their underwear for vaping devices in January 2022.
Charges were dismissed against Suring's former superintendent Kelly Casper. She resigned in June 2022.
The signed bill extends Wisconsin's legal definition of "strip search" where someone can be charged if a student is told to strip down to their underwear.
Wisconsin law previously defined "strip searches" where a student's private parts are exposed.
“Being treated with dignity and basic privacy is something that every student should expect when they enter our schools," Steffen said in a news release. "The event at Suring revealed a statutory loophole that needed to be closed. This bill will protect our students from experiencing such intrusive searches in the future and I am pleased that it has been signed into law.”
