Reasonable Scope of a Student Search
Examples
Example 1:
A school official has a reasonable suspicion that a student’s purse contains a weapon,
- A basic search of her purse for the suspected weapon must stop as soon
as it is apparent that there is no weapon in the purse.
- The reasonable scope of the search goes no further than the
parts of the purse big enough to contain an object as large as a weapon.
- Extending the search of the purse into a small zippered pocket inside
the purse and
- Removing a small plastic bag containing illegal drugs is an improper "scavenger hunt" that exceeds the reasonable scope of the search.
