Unanimous U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld the strip search of a student. Since first case was decided in 1973, no other court has been willing to uphold this highly intrusive search method. Asks why the Sixth Circuit is willing to set aside what has been the concern of the judiciary for the past several decades. (MLF)

Sets out the legal standard to which school officials must adhere in conducting a search of students or their belongings. Offers some suggestions for school newspaper editors regarding their role in seeing that these guidelines are followed. (SR)

In DesRoches v Caprio, federal district court ruled in favor of Jim DesRoches who had decided not to consent to a search of his backpack for a pair of allegedly stolen sneakers. Judge Robert G. Doumar decided the need to find the stolen sneakers did not outweigh the students' privacy interest and offered guidelines about school searches for stolen…

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees "the right of people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures" by governmental officials. In a 1985 Supreme Court decision, "New Jersey v. TLO," students' privacy rights in public schools are afforded a lower…

By upholding a student's refusal to provide a urine sample, the Seventh Circuit Court correctly avoided further erosion of the Fourth Amendment's privacy principle. In "New Jersey v T.L.O." (1995), the U.S. Supreme Court shrunk the probable-cause standard to reasonable suspicion in the special context of public schools, retaining the…

A federal district judge dismissed a suit brought by two students against a high-school principal who found marijuana in their hotel room on a senior class trip. Although the Fourth Amendment governs searches of students by school employees, employees need not have probable cause for a "reasonable" search. (MLH)

In "Acton," the Supreme Court upheld a local school board policy calling for the random, suspicionless drug testing of interscholastic student-athletes. Reviews the Court's holdings. Concludes that a drug-testing policy that is consistent with "Acton" and enjoys broad-based community support probably would be worth its expense.…

THE FOLLOWING IS THE FULL TEXT OF THIS DOCUMENT: A parent who notices a gun in his child's room would not hesitate to ask questions and demand answers about its presence. As a school administrator, I believe it is my responsibility to ask questions and take action when I find an equally destructive weapon--drugs--in my schools. The zealous…