Notes that students' legitimate expectations of privacy and school officials' need to maintain school discipline and safety often collide. Outlines guidelines for searching in the following instances: student lockers; drug dogs; student trips; strip searches; and urinalysis. Suggests that training for all administrators, faculty, and staff in the…

Examines the National Collegiate Athletic Association's drug testing program of student-athletes and relevant legal decisions. Concludes that each individual urinalysis search, not based on suspicion, is a violation of the student-athlete's privacy and is an unreasonable search in violation of the Fourth Amendment. (100 references) (MLF)

Disagrees with Ferraraccio's views and argues that: (1) students do bring illegal weapons to school; (2) metal detectors do detect weapons and help schools to disarm students; (3) disarming students reduces the threat of violence; and (4) courts have repeatedly approved the constitutionality of weapon-related suspicionless student searches…

In a case involving a swim-team student's mandatory pregnancy test and a varsity coach's mishandling of confidentiality, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals awarded the coach qualified immunity, while rejecting the student's Fourth and First Amendment claims. Discretion and legal counsel would have helped. (MLH)

The 1971 police search of a newspaper office led to the United States Supreme Court's "Zurcher v The Stanford Daily" decision that newspaper offices can permissibly be searched if it is believed that they contain materials that relate to an ongoing criminal investigation. This decision has been viewed by the press as an attack on First…

In "Williams by Williams v. Ellington" the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the strip search of a female student for drugs. Explains the standards for searching students in schools as set forth by the Supreme Court in the "New Jersey v. T.L.O." decision. Considers the application of legal standards in "Williams"…

Reports on court decisions regarding a 1971 police search of the Stanford University student newspaper office, which culminated in a 1978 Supreme Court ruling in favor of the police; tells the reactions of journalists and legislators to the decision. (GT)

Provides a moot court activity in which secondary students re-enact the U.S. Supreme Court case "California v. Greenwood," concerning the exclusionary rule and the privacy of a citizen's trash. Students role-play Supreme Court justices and attorneys to gain an understanding of how appellate courts operate. (LS)

In a case involving questionable canine search-and-seizure practices, a circuit court upheld a school board's decision to terminate a teacher's contract. While touting zero tolerance, the board fired an honored teacher 3 years from retirement who may not have known about the marijuana cigarette in her car. (MLH)

Reviews recent federal appellate court cases dealing with legal issues involving random drug testing of students participating in extracurricular activities. Draws implications for school business officials and other educators. (PKP)

Two union lawyers concede that employer concern about substance abuse is legitimate but object to the invasion of individual privacy and the assault on worker dignity. Describe the standards that must be met for drug testing to be constitutionally valid and identify the unreliable technology of drug tests. (MLF)

Focuses on the recent application and interpretation of the Fourth Amendment to school children. Discusses the amendment in regard to the relationship between school authorities and children, students' legitimate expectation of privacy, reasonableness in justification of a search, issues of mass mandatory screening, and requirements of due process…

Suggests that it is necessary to protect the privacy of government procedures that could compromise security, yet there is also a need to revise and fine-tune legislation that expands government authority. Asserts that all major corrections in the delicate balance between public safety and civil rights typically require corrections themselves. (NB)

Examines whether Fourth Amendment of United States Constitution applies to relationship between student athlete and educational institution and whether drug testing is illegal search and seizure in violation of the amendment. Suggests that institutions strike an appropriate balance between helping student athletes protect their own health, while…

Teachers continue to be underinformed about legal issues affecting schools. Litigation and case law since 1998 suggest that principals should provide teachers with additional training in the areas of school violence, school prayer, sexual harassment, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, data privacy, and student suicide. (MLH)