Typically, school administrators determine their school's security practices, but parental involvement may also play an important role in school security decisions. Data from the 2015-2016 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS 2016) was used to examine the relationship between parental involvement and the presence of physically invasive…

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 a California case involving a 16-year-old girl's possession of three knives on school grounds, both a trial and Ninth Circuit court affirmed the school vice-principal's right to search and discover these weapons while enforcing a no-smoking policy. The court lectured parents and lawyers for wasting the court's time--especially after a juvenile…

Examines recent court decisions regarding the legality of drug-testing programs aimed at student athletes. Concludes the drug-testing programs will be upheld if the program is narrowly drawn with regard to the student population; aims at limited and achievable goals; involves random selection of students for testing; and imposes penalties…

Examines impact of Supreme Court's 2002 decision in "Board of Education v. Earls" on high school random drug-testing policies and practices. Court held that random drug-testing policy at Tecumseh, Oklahoma, school district did not violate students' Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches. (Contains 46 references.) (PKP)

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)

Addresses the Fourth Amendment constitutional challenges facing high school student-athlete drug testing programs and applies the findings in the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the "Vernonia versus Acton" case, the first drug-testing case involving high school student athletes to be decided by the Court, by recommending 12 safeguards…

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…

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…

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.…

Offers an eight-day unit on search and seizure for high school students. Includes condensed versions of famous court decisions, teaching materials, and day-by-day teaching procedures. (JDH)