Previous
Page 31
Next

School Search Issues

Locker or Storage Area Searches 

Searches of students’ lockers are subject to the same reasonable suspicion standard as other student searches on school property.

If a school principal or a school employee designated by the principal has reasonable suspicion that a prohibited or illegally possessed substance or object is contained within a student's locker or other storage area, he or she may search the locker or storage area.

Student Searches by Law Enforcement Officers

• Any law enforcement officer -- stationed on campus or off campus -- may conduct a student search for weapons on school property based on the reasonable suspicion of a school official.
   

• The courts recognize that school officials should not hesitate to contact law enforcement authorities when a student is suspected of having a weapon on school grounds; good common sense as well as good public policy dictate that law enforcement officers trained in disarming offenders, not school officials, should conduct searches for weapons.

Previous Page         TOC          Next Page