The problem is the widespread practice by many campuses in defining community membership in ways that deny their students the civil liberties and civil rights all other Americans are guaranteed. Thus, when forty-year old veterans enroll for even one part-time course, they may find that First and Fourteenth Amendment rights existing off campus no…

The time has come for a thorough review of the "Guidelines for the Consideration of Governing Bodies in Adopting a Code of Conduct for Learners" (hereafter the Guidelines). More than 20 years after its original publication, no amendments have been made to this important document. To substantiate the case for review, some of the most…

College students who reside in campus dormitories at public universities have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their dorm rooms that is protected by the fourth amendment; and officials cannot search these rooms for law enforcement purposes without a valid warrant. Non-students, however, have no such reasonable expectation of privacy in…

The purpose of this research study will be to examine teacher perceptions on various issues pertaining to school law in the State of Alabama. Having data on teacher perception in Alabama can help shape future educational policy so that teachers can have an understanding of what they should and are required to do in various ethical and moral…

Research in the field of out-of-school suspension and expulsion in K-12 public schools is limited when focusing on violence, due process, weapons, drugs and alcohol, and search and seizure. Understanding the role of an administrator when dealing with out-of-school suspension an expulsion led the researcher to develop the following question: What…

This study examined federal and state court decisions related to student Fourth Amendment rights following the "New Jersey v. T.L.O." ruling in 1985. There has been minimal research in judicial treatment of students' Fourth Amendment rights across regions of the country and less to what extent regional rulings implicitly or explicitly…

School administrators are expected to balance the need for school safety and good order with the rights of students to be free of unreasonable search of their person and property. This balance can be particularly difficult when over-the-counter or prescription drugs are involved. This article summarizes a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that…

Strip searches should be considered searches of last resort based on the intrusive nature of the search and the resulting impact it may have on a student. It is well established by the courts that as the intrusiveness of the search intensifies, the standard of the Fourth Amendment reasonably approaches probable cause which is a higher standard…

In light of the dramatic increase in the presence of weapons, violence, drugs, and other contraband in schools, school officials in the United States and England face significant challenges as they seek to maintain safe and orderly learning environments. Almost twenty five years after the United States Supreme Court's 1985 ruling in "New…

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects the people of the United States from unreasonable searches and seizures. On first reading, these protections seem clearly defined. The amendment was meant to protect Americans from the kinds of random searches and seizures that the colonists experienced under British colonial rule. Under…

The Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution provides protection of all citizens against unreasonable search and seizure. The US Supreme Court has affirmed that the basic purpose of the Fourth Amendment is to safeguard the privacy and security of individuals against unreasonable intrusive searches by governmental officials. Since students possess…

The Supreme Court has issued only one decision on a case involving the rights of public school students to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. The Court's decision, while resolving the crucial issue of the appropriate standard for assessing student searches, left a number of important questions wholly unanswered. (IAH)

Discusses the Supreme Court's findings affecting searches by schools in "New Jersey vs. T.L.O.," reviews earlier school search cases, and explores the factors and circumstances the courts have considered in applying the "reasonableness" standard for assessing when a school's need for maintaining order outweighs a student's…

In a Georgia case involving a strip-searched class of fifth- graders to locate some missing money ($26), a Federal Court judge concluded the searches were unreasonable. Although students won the constitutionality battle, they lost the war over liability and injunctive relief in a subsequent decision. (MLH)

"Renfrow" represents an aberration in the law. The court offered no relief against a patently unlawful practice involving the search of thousands of innocent children. Available from William S. Hein & Co., 1285 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14209. (Author/IRT)