The court cited arguments by the National Assn. of Social Workers that strip searches of children "can result in serious emotional damage, including the development of, or increase in, oppositional behavior."
"And all this to find prescription-strength ibuprofen," Wardlaw wrote, noting that one pill has the strength of two over-the-counter Advil and might be commonly used by young women to treat menstrual cramps.
The ruling said that Assistant Principal Wilson was liable for monetary damages but that his aide and the school nurse were not because they were acting under his orders.
Judge Ronald M. Gould, joined by Judge Barry G. Silverman, dissented on the grounds that all the school officials had governmental immunity because the law was not clear at the time of the search.
Judge Michael Daly Hawkins, joined by Chief Judge Alex Kozinski and Judge Carlos T. Bea, dissented on the grounds that the search was constitutional.
Hawkins wrote: "School officials deserve the greatest latitude when responding to behavior that threatens the health and safety of students or teachers . . .
"When school officials reasonably believe that a student is carrying a weapon or harmful drugs, it will rarely be unreasonable for them to do what they can to neutralize the danger."
Although ibuprofen is mild, "that does not mean it is never harmful," Hawkins wrote.
The ruling affects nine states, including California, that are under the 9th Circuit's jurisdiction.
But California is one of at least seven states that prohibits strip searches of any student for any reason, the court said.
Adam B. Wolf, a lawyer with the ACLU Foundation, which helped represent Savana, said the ruling "sends a clear message to school administrators nationwide that they need to respect certain student privacy and that they can't take the drastic step of strip-searching a student based on one uncorroborated tip."
The lawyers for the school district were not available for comment.
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maura.dolan@latimes.com
