The lawsuit says that the Jan. 20 search violated the students’ civil rights and caused them emotional distress, psychological damage and humiliation. It seeks more than $50,000 in damages for each of the 20 students.

The suit was filed as a class action because the claims and damages are the same for the group, said the attorney that is representing the families.

The search was prompted by a report that money, a credit card and a gift card were missing. The items were not found. The school director led a search of the classroom, then the girls’ purses and other personal effects, and then their shoes, pockets and lockers. After a student said the missing items were hidden in bras or undergarments, Smith had an instructor, also a registered nurse, take each student into the bathroom individually. The nurse asked each girl to unsnap her bra and shake it, without removing her shirt, and then asked each to pull her scrub pants to mid-thigh.

While concluding that the policy was legal and properly followed, the disctrict superintendant wrote in a report that teachers and other employees will be given additional training on performing student searches "to ensure that we comply with the law."

The district superintendant said the search was warranted because there were reasonable grounds to believe that a theft had occurred, and the scope of the search was appropriate because there were reasonable grounds to believe that the missing items were hidden in a student’s undergarment.