A bill that prohibits strip searches of students conducted by school personnel is on its way to the governor’s desk for his signature.
State Rep. David Steffen, R-Howard, and state Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Green Bay, introduced Senate Bill 111 in response to an incident at the Suring School District involving six teenage girls being ordered to strip down to their underwear by then-superintendent Kelly Casper. The search was allegedly conducted to find a nicotine vape pen.
All four state lawmakers serving Oconto County signed on as sponsors to the bill, including Wimberger, state Sen. Mary Felzkowski, R-Tomahawk, state Rep. Jeffrey Mursau, R-Crivitz, and state Rep. Elijah Behnke, R-Oconto.
Under current law, strip searching a student is a Class B misdemeanor. However, Wisconsin’s definition of “strip search” is a search that would expose a student’s private areas. Because of this limited definition, prosecutors decided Casper could not be charged with this offense. The new bill extends the definition of “strip search” to include searches that would require a student to strip down to their underwear, making this a chargeable offense moving forward.
“The incident that occurred at Suring revealed a statutory loophole that needs to be closed in order to protect our students from such humiliating and intrusive searches,” Steffen said. “We expect that our kids are being treated with dignity and basic privacy when at school — this bill helps to ensure that.”
The bill does not affect existing laws regarding strip searches by law enforcement.
Casper was charged in February 2022 with false imprisonment, but a Brown County judge ruled the alleged facts in the case did not fit that charge, either. The Suring School Board suspended Casper with pay shortly after charges were filed, and it eventually approved a resignation/separation agreement with Casper.
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