Legal Guidelines for Student Searches
What is not a "Search."
The following are not searches:
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Observing an object in plain view where it is exposed to the public.
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Examining an object after a student denies ownership of the object.
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Examining an object abandoned by a student.
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Detecting anything openly exposed to the senses of sight, smell or hearing, as long as school officials are located in a place where they have a right to be and they do not use extraordinary means to gain a vantage point (e.g., a male teacher seeing and smelling marijuana smoke in the boys restroom).
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Using extraordinary means to enhance sensory perceptions in open areas (e.g., using flashlights, binoculars, dogs, thermal imaging, etc., are not searches).