This analysis of a November 2001 case in Botetourt County, Virginia, looks at whether the Fourth Amendment right against an unreasonable "seizure" or the 14th Amendment "liberty" for parents to control the care and custody of their children requires a ban on, or at least immediate notification regarding, detentions of a…

In examining student searches from a critical theory perspective, one considers who is being searched, who does the searching and by what authority, and how searching reinforces existing power structures. This article addresses these questions and related concepts (discipline, criminal/deviant behavior, punishment, and rehabilitation) by applying…

Educators concerned about school safety have resorted to searching students, their lockers, and their possessions. These searches have led to litigation over whether the Fourth Amendment's prohibition of unreasonable searches and seizures applies to public schools. Although courts have upheld reasonable searches, administrators should carefully…

Discusses federal district court decision dismissing suit brought by three Texas high school students claiming that their Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated when police, at request of administrators, entered school and rounded up, handcuffed, and detained them and 11 other students who "hung out" with a student arrested…

In recent years, public school students have been searched with metal detectors and occasionally sniffed by dogs or strip searched. Their lockers and bookbags have been searched, and their urine has been tested for drugs--all in the name of school safety. This article explores the legal ramifications of such searches and calls for a critical…

Concerns over students' and staff members' safety in public schools continue to mount-- manifested in zero-tolerance policies, stringent disciplinary practices, and efforts to implement drug-screening programs. Although "reasonable suspicion" for searches and drug testing is the watchword, courts cannot agree on definitions. Legalities…

Case citations from federal and state court decisions concerning violence and school safety are organized in five major sections with brief summaries of relevant cases in subcategories followed by a table of cases cited. The major sections are as follows (1) "Assaults on School Personnel" (Michael L. Yates); (2) "The Fourth Amendment: Search and…

Nationwide, schools, communities, parents and students recognize the continuing need to make schools a safe place, an environment where children can learn without fear for their safety. In the past few years, the available research on violence prevention has increased, providing legislators with important information about effective violence…

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…

Discusses some of the primary questions raised by school security operations and suggests ways for school administrators to successfully deal with those questions within the context of school security and educational goals. Available from Security World Magazine, P.O. Box 272, Culver City, California 90230, single copy $2.00. (Author/JG)

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"…

Describes legal standard of reasonable suspicion for school officials to conduct student searches in public schools and court cases interpreting that standard. Discusses probable-cause standard for student searches by law-enforcement officials, voluntary student searches, and individual versus random searches. Recommends two practices to reduce…

This paper presents court cases for the purpose of updating current knowledge on search and seizure of students in the school setting. These cases focus on the balance and interplay between students' Fourth Amendment rights and school administrators' obligations to maintain order and discipline in the schools. Part of this obligation implies…

Reviews Supreme Court case, New Jersey v. T.L.O., that established the right of school officials to conduct searches of students when the purpose is to maintain discipline, order, and safety in the educational setting. The need to have reasonable grounds for suspicion before conducting the search is emphasized. (CR)

Many view the problem of violence as not merely a school problem, but as a much larger community problem that is finding its way into the schools. As a society, in addition to teaching our children how to be violent, we are giving them the tools of violence. There are steps that school board members can take to establish and maintain control of…