A federal jury will begin deliberating today in the lawsuit brought against the Hamilton County Department of Education by a mother who said her daughter was repeatedly "strip-searched" as a 5-year-old at Apison Elementary School.
Testimony ended and attorneys for the mother and the school system made their closing arguments Thursday afternoon.
The mother's attorney, Valerie Epstein, told the U.S. District Court jury that there is no policy in place within the school system to govern how or whether a child should be searched, and how to protect a student's constitutional right to privacy.
The lack of these policies, she argued, subjected her client's daughter, who has cerebral palsy, to undergo days of "complete body checks" in 2012 without permission from the mother or pediatricians. The little girl, who is confined to a wheelchair, has congenital herpes simplex contracted at birth, which shows up in a series of small blisters on her right heel.
Apison Elementary School is located at 10433 East Brainerd Road, in Apison.This infection is not contagious if covered, the girl's doctors testified. They said they were never contacted before the school nurse searched the child for herpes-related rash while her diapers were being changed at school.
Dr. Stephen Adams, a family practice practitioner at Erlanger who works with the school system, said he never contacted the girl's doctors before telling Sheryl Rogers, Hamilton County Schools director of health services, to have the school nurse observe the girl's body for a rash.
Schools attorney Scott Bennett argued that based on the limited information provided on the girl's individualized health plan, school officials had to act to prevent the risk of the disease spreading.
Bennett repeatedly told jurors that the checks were not invasive, and that no more skin was exposed than during the girl's routine diaper changes.
Contact staff writer Kendi Anderson at kendi.anderson@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6592.