The four 12-year-old students and their parents have alleged that the middle schoolers were questioned and forced to remove their clothing on January 15 by the school nurse and assistant principal after they were suspected of carrying drugs. Local media reports suggest that school officials became concerned after the pre-teens appeared "giddy" during lunch.
This incident is said to have taken place at East Middle School in Binghamton, New York, a city of mostly white residents, according to 2018 data collected by the US Census Bureau.
"The allegations that 12-year-old girls were strip searched for drugs after being perceived as ‘hyper and giddy' at a Binghamton middle school are deeply disturbing and raise serious concerns of racial and gender bias," Cuomo said in a Wednesday statement.
"Asking a child to remove her clothing — and then commenting on her body — is shaming, humiliating, traumatic sexual harassment. In New York, we have zero tolerance for discrimination or harassment of any kind, especially in our schools, and we stand with those who are calling for clarity on this troubling incident."
Additionally, Cuomo announced that he would be directing the New York State Department of Education to launch an investigation into the claims. His response came just one day after the Binghamton School District announced Tuesday that it had hired a third party firm to look into the allegations, local news station WBNG reported.
The district has adamantly denied that the middle schoolers were ordered to disrobe, stressing in a statement issued January 24 that "there has been a lot of misinformation being spread through social media from third parties."
"No students were strip-searched, nor were they punished as a result of the incident in question, and they were allowed to return to class after being evaluated," the release reads, before noting staff may conduct physical or medical evaluations in the event they notice a student acting out of character.
Such an evaluation would require "the removal of bulky outside clothing to expose an arm so that vitals like blood pressure and pulse can be assessed." Without offering details on what exactly occurred during the examination, the statement indicated that these specified actions are "not the same as a strip search."
Citing the Binghamton City School District's policy handbook, the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin reported that strip searches at the district's schools "are almost never justified," but can occur under certain circumstances.
The handbook states that a strip searches can be conducted if officials have "highly credible evidence" that such a search would prevent a danger or yield evidence, or when the safety of others is threatened.
Although the district says the girls' parents were contacted following the evaluation, the parents reject the claim. "We, as parents, did not consent to these searches. We, as parents, were not notified by the school before or after these searches occurred. Instead, our children informed us, and we had to follow up with the school the next day," a joint statement from the students' families reads.
Earlier this month, a local organization known as the Progressive Leaders of Tomorrow organized a rally at the Binghamton school in an effort to shed light on the matter. More than 200 community members attended the event, according to the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin.