After five hours of deliberation, a federal court jury reached a verdict in the case between the mother of a former 5-year-old student at Apison Elementary School and the Hamilton County Department of Education.

The jury determined that the Department of Education was not liable, and should not be held responsible for the series of "body checks" that the mother said they performed on her handicapped child without her permission.

Apison Elementary School is located at 10433 East Brainerd Road, in Apison.

The mother's attorney, Valerie Epstein, argued that the child was inappropriately "strip searched" by the school nurse at the school multiple times, and that proper policies were not in place to protect this student from unconstitutional searches.

Schools attorney Scott Bennett argued that the body checks were not invasive, and that no more skin was exposed during these checks than during the student's regular diaper changes.

See Saturday's Times Free Press for the complete story.