The Supreme Court in 1985 first addressed the issue of balance between a student's right to privacy as stated in the Fourth Amendment and school officials' need to maintain safety. This chapter summarizes the case, explores the meaning of the court opinion, and briefly discusses other issues. The case involved a 14-year-old girl (T.L.O.) whose…

This chapter discusses legal ramifications of administrative decisions in schools involving bombs and bomb threats, false fire alarms, searches and seizure, and police investigations in the schools. In the case of bomb threats, the principal and not the police must take the legal responsibility for making the decision of whether or not to evacuate…

The purpose of this study was to help public school administrators, especially principals, to understand the legal and constitutional limitations of their authority in dealing with students. Control of students is discussed as five separate topics, each representing a chapter, as follows: (1) freedom of expression and First Amendment rights; (2)…

This draft was developed by educators, parents, administrators, students, and Office of Overseas Dependents education representatives. It is designed to serve as a guide for the local development of handbooks regarding student rights and responsibilities. The draft, which will be reviewed after recommended revisions are received, is very broad…

This monograph summarizes methods used to investigate and prevent crime in school, sketches possible legal claims that students might make as a result of these approaches to inschool crime prevention, and, in an extensive analysis of five court cases, gives particular attention to the legal issues related to searches of student lockers by school…

This report (1) describes how the project disseminated information about student rights through a student rights handbook, a student rights news service, and speaking engagements; (2) outlines the nature of project services that help students obtain their rights; (3) describes procedures for enforcement of student rights; (4) discusses school…

This report provides board policy samples and other policy resources on student rights and responsibilities. The intent in providing policy samples is to encourage thinking in policy terms and to provide working papers that can be edited, modified, or adapted to meet local requirements. Topics covered in the samples include (1) freedom of…

Provides an edited version of the Supreme Court opinions in "TLO v New Jersey." Includes an article delineating the new rules on student searches that have resulted from the court decision. A third article discusses questionable areas the Court decision left unclear. (MD)

This legal primer on violence in schools addresses the responsibility of school officials to respond to undisciplined youths whose behavior threatens the welfare and safety of other children in attendance. It is broken down into sections that provide a brief overview of the key rules and guidelines for school officials and teachers in each topic…

With the alarming increase in drugs and weapons on American school campuses, teachers and school officials have stepped up their efforts to search lockers, other school property, and sometimes the students themselves. School officials must remember that any search of a student creates a Fourth Amendment issue. Thus, it is important to know the…

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…

Survey of 24 midwestern school attorneys, 31 midwestern school administrators, and 22 law professors identified the most important school law cases in 10 categories: students' rights, due process, search and seizure, school attendance, rights of the handicapped, school curriculum, church and state, school desegregation, school finance, and…

In "New Jersey v. T.L.O." the U.S. Supreme Court held that the prohibitions of the Fourth Amendment regarding unreasonable searches and seizures apply to student searches and seizures conducted by public school officials. However, the Court said the legality of a search should depend upon "reasonableness, under the…

This manual is designed to provide educators, primarily administrators, with basic legal information on issues concerning student rights in North Dakota. Chapters are presented on (1) the right to an education, (2) the freedom of religion, (3) the right to privacy (in school records and in searches), (4) freedom of expression (in general, in…

Directed at school officials, this paper describes selected civil cases filed against schools since 1976. Cases concerning handicapped students constitute most of such cases; those cited deal with discipline (S-1 v. Turlington) and appropriate residential placement (Hine v. Pitt County Board of Education) of a handicapped child. Discipline cases…