The Fourth Amendment and Students’ Rights in Public

Schools

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.”

New Jersey v. T.L.O.

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

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.”

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

Less Intrusive Searches than T.L.O.

• Locker Searches

• Desk Searches

• Automobile Searches

States with Legislation Prohibiting Strip Searches in

Public Schools

• California• Iowa• New Jersey• Oklahoma

• South Carolina• Washington• Wisconsin

Vernonia v. Acton

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

The Vernonia Test

• Need

• Expectation of Privacy

• Obtrusiveness of the Search

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.

Drug Testing before Vernonia

• Anable v. Ford (1985) (Ark. fed. ct.)

• Odenheim (1985) (New Jersey Super.)

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