Research in the field of out-of-school suspension and expulsion in K-12 public schools is limited when focusing on violence, due process, weapons, drugs and alcohol, and search and seizure. Understanding the role of an administrator when dealing with out-of-school suspension an expulsion led the researcher to develop the following question: What…

In an effort to safeguard the learning environment, school administrators generally rely on district or local school guidelines and professional judgment. With new technology, the proliferation of drug use, and increased school violence, schools have become a complex environment to manage for both system and local leadership. Administrators are…

Asks whether proponents' justifications for using metal detectors to counteract school violence are compelling enough to override students' privacy interests. Concludes that there are serious constitutional concerns raised by using metal detectors. The rationale for upholding school searches in other contexts does not apply to metal-detector…

This article examines the role of technology in an attempt to curb school violence. Despite an increasing national focus on school violence and schools' growing desire for hardware to deal with the problem, the role of technology in making schools safer remains ill-defined and undecided. However, some educators caution that the use of technology…

Discusses legal problems of a policy permitting the use of metal detectors to search students suspected of carrying concealed weapons. A wholesale search policy was challenged as a violation of students' rights, so the board adopted a selective search policy based on reasonable suspicion. (TE)

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 administrator responsibility and student rights under the Fourth Amendment. Reviews search and seizure case law in school settings, highlighting "New Jersey v. TLO,""Vernonia v. Acton," and other landmark decisions. Some experts advocate a moral or cultural ethos fostering a sense of family and community, character…

Discusses the federal constitutional limits placed on school officials in various attempts to reduce crime in their schools. Describes searches of a student's person and belongings, school lockers, and the use of metal detectors. Possible pitfalls for schools in their efforts to reduce crime include due process requirements. (97 footnotes) (MLF)

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…

This publication is a revision and restructuring of "Reducing School Violence," published in 1993. This revised edition benefits from the assistance of many of the original reviewers, as well as additional experts and practitioners. The key to school safety is a comprehensive approach. This guidebook was designed to help teachers, school…

This digest presents a brief review of recent Fourth Amendment decisions that affect the rights of students and the parameters of schools' authority to maintain a crime-free environment. Although Federal decisions apply nationwide and do mark the boundaries of permissible state and local action, state and local laws and regulations must always be…

Focuses on judicial reception of schools' attempts to curb violence, particularly predatory violence and psychopathological violence. School responses have been to create violence-prevention policies based on punitive measures or punish offending behavior after it has occurred. Such reactions may result in finding that schools have abridged…

School administrators are challenged to maintain the delicate balance between protecting individuals' rights and ensuring the general welfare by maintaining a safe, secure learning environment. Legal principles and precedents governing restrictions on student appearance, privacy and procedural rights, harassment and hate crimes, and suicide are…

Schools are legally obligated to protect students from injury, report child abuse, and curtail harassment and hate crimes. Educators' duties to maintain safe school environments often conflict with students' constitutionally protected rights governing expression, appearance, unreasonable searches, and due process regarding zero-tolerance policies…

This publication contains articles that focus on the legal issues that confront schools when they use various means to maintain order and safeguard student well being, and examine the liability that may be imposed if they fail to do so. Following the foreword and the introduction, the articles include: (1) "Legal and Policy Issues in Curbing…