School & Education
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School searches
The Fourth Amendment protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures by public officials. However, students have fewer privacy rights in school. In other words, school officials have more leeway to search students than police officers have to search people in the general public. This is because the law recognizes that schools have a unique need to promote a safe teaching and learning environment.
Students should not expect privacy in:
- Lockers,
- Desks,
- Parking lots,
- Other school property or equipment owned or controlled by the school, or
- Their personal property in any of the areas above.
School authorities can search those areas without the prior consent of students. They do not need a search warrant.
Schools can have police, including dogs, help in the searches of these areas. They could check for:
- Illegal drugs,
- Weapons, or
- Other illegal or dangerous materials or substances.
Outside of the areas listed above, a school can search when they have reasonable suspicion of a violation of the law or school rules. Reasonable suspicion means a suspicion based on common sense conclusions under the circumstances. The school's suspicion needs to be based on something more than a hunch, rumor, or unreliable tip.
These searches must be appropriate and related to their objectives. The law doesn’t allow school officials to do overly intrusive searches. This depends on the age and sex of the student. It also depends on the nature of the issue they are investigating.
Strip searches of students are only possibly allowed in very limited situations. To do a strip-search of a student, the school must suspect that:
- A student has committed a specific crime or violation,
- The contraband is concealed on their person, and
- The item presents a clear danger (like weapons).
If the school finds evidence that a student violated the law or a school policy:
- The evidence may be retained,
- The school may take disciplinary action, and
- The evidence can be given to the police.
