Kingsport City School Board Votes To Allow Schools To Search & Interrogate Students During School Hours

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By Jane O’Hara [Special to The Tennessee Conservative] –

Did the school board have a lack of transparency on this policy?

This policy is now in place in Kingsport Schools that allows the school to search and interrogate your child during school.

One of the items on the Agenda at the Kingsport School Board’s meeting was a proposed Policy on Interrogation and Searches of students while at school. 

This proposed policy that passed with only one School Board member opposing it, is a policy where children can be interrogated during school and searches may be occur. 

The police may interrogate the child at school for an incident that occurred off school property and not during school.  Children that refuse to respond may be suspended.  Parents/Guardians will be notified, but the proceedings will continue with or without them.

During the meeting, there were several parents that spoke stating they vehemently opposed the school’s proposed policy. 

The first parent spoke of her concern that this is a breach of constitutional rights to have them questioned without their parents or guardians present.  It is also not acceptable to potentially suspend a child if they remain silent. 

The first amendment states freedom of speech, the 4^th privacy within reason and discrimination without the ability to have a parent present and the 5^th to be able to remain silent.  It was also mentioned that the proceedings should be recorded. 

Was there transparency from the school board prior to this policy being pushed through? Parents at the meeting said they had just found out about this policy, so it appears there was not any advance notice. 

These decisions can affect children in the long term and short term.  Intimidation factor by having a person, an adult with power over them asking questions, interrogating them.  We know most children would be intimidated and would respond out of fear.  How do we know the child wouldn’t be coerced into stating what was asked of them?  How do we know there wouldn’t be leading questions, that would cause a child to answer in favor of the incident that occurred. 

This policy is so vague, what other questions could be asked?  Could children be asked about home life, Mommy or Daddy present, drugs or guns in the house, religious beliefs or political beliefs?  As per the National Registry of Exonerations 36% of children are falsely accused. 

It will not have a positive impact on our children, staff or school board.  It will cause a lack of trust within the school system.  Another parent questioned where this policy came from. 

There is a much deeper issue.  We as parents, teachers and the school board have failed.  How have we failed? 

Parents have let their children down by stepping aside and letting the schools do whatever they want, so here we are.  Schools have stepped in, replacing the parent in telling children, teaching children and guiding children to believe in what they are being taught.  They are not taught that they have rights and that they can respectfully decline to answer due to the 5^th amendment.  They are not taught they can and must have their parent/guardian present prior to saying anything or they can have an attorney present.  They are not taught the Constitution or the Bill of Rights.   

 Other factors, children are not taught to respect one another or themselves.  They are not taught that if an adult is talking that they need to patiently wait until the adult is done talking.  They are not taught to be patient and wait your turn. They want and expect instant gratification. 

Children’s ill behavior starts at home.  It is not the teacher’s job nor the schools.  I realize the parents that showed up care very much for their children.  One parent works two jobs but managed to show up.  Where is the parental outrage on this? Where are all the parents?    

We as parents must come together and say no to policies such as this.  We also need to reprimand our children if they have done wrong.  Teachers are not the enemy.  They are seeing disrespect daily and the school board I felt thought this is the only option.  

 Prior to the school board making their decision on this policy, one of the members gave the worst case scenario.  A child he stated bought a vaping product from another child at school.  He vaped and didn’t realize it had phenethyl in it.  The school had to use Narcan on this child.   This is where we are, that the school board was/is so desperate that are giving up our rights due to having no control over children. 

Yes, this occurred and there are some very bad things that go on during school, but this is one more step to all of us losing our freedoms.  You see where this is going, right?  Parents get involved in your child’s life.  If you don’t stop children from being fresh when they are young, if you don’t give them limits when they are young, they will have no limits when they are older.  They will be selfish, self-absorbed, disrespectful, non-caring adults that are only concerned with their own needs.  This policy has passed in 60 other districts.

Meanwhile the schools and the government are working tirelessly to teach your children not to listen to you, to take away yours and their rights.  The government is working lock step in training your children to not respect the family, to not believe in GOD.  They want your children to be groomed into believing their ideology of multiple genders is the future.  These beliefs are the destruction of our future. They don’t want your child, our children, to be critical thinkers. 

The Government wants your child to fall in line and go along with their agenda as well as promote it.  The Founding Fathers worked tirelessly to come up with the Bill of Rights to protect us, the citizens.  It is unfortunate we all fell asleep at the wheel, while the government is eroding all the Freedoms our Founding Fathers fought for.  

School board: you can let parents know in advance of any policy that would concern their children such as this one.  Post upcoming policies on the school’s website. This policy must be very clear if it should remain in effect that it only be used in the event of an imminent threat to oneself or another. 

Parents: go to the meetings, at least have a few people go so you can keep watch on what the school board is doing.  Grow a network for all parents, maybe use the school’s network to share vital information that could impact your child.  Why are policies like this being passed?  We are all at fault.  Let it stop now, we need to be there for our children, so they may be free. 

Lastly, you can’t stop, because you showed up to one meeting.  This erosion of our rights isn’t going away.  You have to remain vigilant; you have to be aware, and you have to show up to all meetings.  This is for your kids, all our kids. We need to be the village, where we watch out for one another.   Be respectful, be kind, make your point, get others involved. 

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