Four 12-year-old black girls were allegedly strip searched at a middle school in New York last week, angering community members who are asking district officials why no action has been taken.

The students were questioned and then strip searched by the nurse and an assistant principal at East Middle School in Binghamton on Jan. 15. The search came because officials suspected they were in possession of drugs, according to Progressive Leaders of Tomorrow, a local advocacy group.

The searches were done without the consent of the girls’ parents, who, according to Progressive Leaders, were made aware of the alleged incident by the girls when they got home.

“The children had their clothing removed and felt shamed, humiliated, and traumatized by [the] experience,” the group wrote on Facebook. “While they were being searched the nurse made disparaging comments about the eczema of one girl and the size of another’s breasts.”

“They, as well as their parents, believe the heinous and excessive actions implemented by the school were racially motivated,” the group added.

In a statement to BuzzFeed News, the Binghamton City School District denied the allegations, saying school officials followed district policy and did not strip search the students.



“School officials did not conduct a strip search,” the district said.

The district added that school administrators are trained to monitor student behavior and determine when that behavior requires “further evaluation.”

“When conducting medical evaluation, it may require the removal of bulky outside clothing to expose an arm so that vitals like blood pressure and pulse can be assessed,” the district said. “This is not the same as a strip search.”

With regard to the incident, the district said the students were not punished as a result and returned to class “after being evaluated.”

On Tuesday, nearly 200 community members packed the district’s board of education meeting to ask why no action has been taken against the employees involved, the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin reported.



Alicia Richard, an East Middle student, said her best friend was one of the girls who was searched.

“How am I supposed to tell her everything is going to be OK if nothing is being taken care of?” she asked the board, according to the newspaper.