The Fourth Amendment and Students

1
The Fourth Amendment and Students Rights in
Public Schools
2
The Fourth Amendment Guarantees that . . .

• The right of people to be secure in their
  persons, houses, papers, and effects against
  unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be
  violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon
  probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation,
  and particularly describing the place to be
  searched, and the persons or things to be
  seized.

3
New Jersey v. T.L.O.

• The Court balanced students rights to privacy
  against school officials responsibilities to
  maintain order discipline.

4
The T.L.O. Test for Reasonableness

• The search must be justified at its inception.
• The search must be reasonable in scope, i.e.,the
  measures adopted are reasonably related to the
  objectives of the search and are not excessively
  intrusive in light of the age and sex of the
  student and the nature of the infraction.

5
Issues T.L.O. Did Not Address

• Less Intrusive Searches (Lockers, Desks)
• More Intrusive Searches (Strip Searching)
• Need for Individualized Suspicion
• Police Involvement in School Searches
• The Exclusionary Rule

6
Less Intrusive Searches than T.L.O.

• Locker Searches
• Desk Searches
• Automobile Searches

7
States with Legislation Prohibiting Strip
Searches in Public Schools

• California
• Iowa
• New Jersey
• Oklahoma

• South Carolina
• Washington
• Wisconsin

8
Vernonia v. Acton

• The Court balanced the intrusiveness of the
  search against the promotion of legitimate
  government interests.

9
The Vernonia Test

• Need
• Expectation of Privacy
• Obtrusiveness of the Search

10
Issues Left Unresolved by Vernonia

• Legality of random drug testing for students
  involved in extracurricular activities.
• Legality of random drug testing for all students.
• Need for individualized suspicion in searches
  other than random drug testing of student
  athletes.

11
Drug Testing before Vernonia

• Anable v. Ford (1985) (Ark. fed. ct.)
• Odenheim (1985) (New Jersey Super.)

12
Drug Testing after Vernonia

• Todd v. Rush (1998) 7th Cir. Ex-C .Legal
• Trinidad (1998) (Colo.) Ex-C Illegal
• Miller v. Wilkes (1999) 8th Cir. Ex-C Leg.
• Willis (1998) (7th Cir.) All students suspended.
  Illegal