Fourth Amendment In Schools

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What do the posted cases reveal to an administrator about when students can be searched in schools?

The posted cases reveal that searching students involves two components that must be considered as an administrator. First, the Fourth Amendment protects “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.” Second, searching students can occur in order to maintain a safe environment and therefore can be considered “reasonable” depending on the circumstances. Administrators must weigh student rights under the Fourth Amendment with the school’s interest in promoting a safe learning environment for students. A student’s Fourth Amendment rights are lessened in the school …show more content…
However, the drugs were not suspected of being in her underwear, and did not present a serious danger to others. There was not strong enough suspicion to justify extending the search to Savana’s underwear, and this invasion of privacy is considered “embarrassing, frightening, and humiliating.” As administrators we must remember that the search must be “reasonably related in scope to the circumstances which justified the interference in the first …show more content…
A school district’s policy must possess “reasonableness” in order to justify a governmental search. Because a warrant is not necessary in a school setting and schools are not related to investigative criminal procedures, we do not need probable cause to conduct a search. However, we must argue that our searches are based on some level of suspicion, and must ask ourselves if the search is reasonable. The nature of the intrusion that the search creates must be weighed against the promotion of safety. La Morte summarized it well in stating that the foremost issue for administrators when it comes to student searching is “establishing the proper balance between an individual student’s right to Fourth Amendment protections from unreasonable search and the duty of school officials to provide all students with a safe and secure school environment” (p.
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