The primary purpose of student searches is to maintain a safe learning environment. Ehlenberger, K. (2001).

 

Facts & Statistics

• In 2015, over fifty percent of middle-school students report having their lockers searched. This is common to the prevalence since 2001 (Fox & Fridel, 2018).

• In the 2015-16 school year, approximately 62% of high school students experienced a random drug check using dog-sniffs (U.S. Department of Education, 2019).

• In 2015, random locker searches were more common in high schools (62%) compared to elementary schools (6%) (U.S. Department of Education, 2019).

• Other types of searches include: backpack searches or student searches (e.g., pat-downs).

 

Law

• The Fourth Amendment rules that the school environment requires an easing of the restrictions to which searches by public authorities are normally subject. School officials, therefore, do not need probable cause or a warrant to search students. Ehlenberger, K. (2001).

• The Court articulated a standard for student searches: reasonable suspicion. Reasonable suspicion is satisfied when two conditions exist:

  • (1) the search is justified at its inception, meaning that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that the search will reveal evidence that the student has violated or is violating the law or school rules

  • (2) the search is reasonably related in scope to the circumstances that justified the search, meaning that the measures used to conduct the search are reasonably related to the objectives of the search and that the search is not excessively intrusive in light of the student's age and sex and the nature of the offense. Ehlenberger, K. (2001).

• Locker searches can be completed by school staff, law enforcement, or dogs.

  • School officials need only reasonable suspicion to search students in public schools, but sworn law enforcement officials normally must have probable cause to search students. Ehlenberger, K. (2001).

 

Proponents and Opponents

There is controversy whether schools should complete unannounced locker searches in schools. Below are arguments for both sides:

Proponents

• Quick, easy way to find contraband or weapons.

• May encourage students to stop bringing contraband to school.

• It is a way that schools deter and discourage students from bringing weapons.

Opponents

• Schools don’t need probable cause to search a locker, but some argue this is still a violation of student’s privacy.

• Locker searches may not be completed consistently for all students.

• May make students feel less safe.

• May increase students’ feelings of anxiety, embarrassment, or fear (Juvonen, 2001

• Items found in a locker are assumed to belong to the student who owns the locker, which may not be the case.

• There are alternative ways to find contraband and promote safety  in schools (Nance, 2013).

 

Best Practices

• Debrief with student(s) after searches - use this a teaching moment to learn from this experience.

• Form policies (school board working with law enforcement)

  • The policies should explain what happens to seized possessions; define consent searches and note how consent may be obtained and the consequences for failing to provide it; state that lockers and other school property are provided for students' use, are under the school's control, and are subject to search at all times; and require that students and parents acknowledge that they have read and understood the school search policy. Ehlenberger, K. (2001).

• Locker searches are a part of the “School Building Vulnerability Assessment” of the PREPaRE model (NASP, 2010).

 

 

References

Ehlenberger, K. (2001). The Right to Search Students. Educational Leadership - Understanding the Law. 59:4, 31-35

Fox, J. A., & Fridel, E. E. (2018). The Menace of School Shootings in America. The Wiley Handbook on Violence in

     Education: Forms, Factors, and Preventions, 15.

Juvonen, J. (2001). School Violence: Prevalence, Fears, and Prevention. RAND

     Cooperation. https://www.rand.org/pubs/issue_papers/IP219/index2.html

Nance, J. P. (2013). Random, Suspicionless Searches of Students’ Belongings: a Legal, Empirical, and Normative

     Analysis. UF Law Scholarship Repository.

National Association of School Psychologists (2010). WS1 Handout 6: School Building Vulnerability Assessment.

     School Prevention and Intervention Training Curriculum.

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2019). Indicators of School Crime and Safety:

     2018 (NCES 2019-047), Indicator 19.