Do students have the same guarantee against “unreasonable searches and seizures” as others? Not according to the state and federal courts. Both the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Pennsylvania Constitution prohibit “unreasonable” searches and seizures by government officials, but what is “reasonable” depends on the circumstances. Ordinarily, a search by police requires the advance written permission of a judge (called a “warrant”), and must be based on probable cause. But school officials are not police, and the courts have said that students in public schools can be searched by school officials without a judicial warrant and even if the school official does not have probable cause, but only a reasonable suspicion that the search will produce evidence of a crime or a violation of school rules. (These rules do not apply in private schools, which can make up their own rules about searches.) Overall, students have fewer privacy rights in school than outside school. Courts balance your privacy rights against the school’s interest in safety and student discipline. Today, the growing concern about drugs and violence in schools often trumps students’ privacy rights. What is “probable cause?” Probable cause for a search exists where the known facts and circumstances would convince a reasonably careful person that contraband or evidence of a crime will be found at the time and place identified for a search. What is a "reasonable suspicion?"That depends on the situation. If a student has been caught breaking a school rule or the law, a school official may have a reasonable suspicion that a search of the student’s backpack or locker will produce evidence related to the infraction. A tip from a reliable source also may provide school officials with reasonable suspicion. And if a school employee sees students behaving in an unusual or suspicious manner, that may provide reasonable suspicion for a search of that student’s backpack or locker. I saw two male security aides searching a fifth-grade girl for drugs in the hallway at school. They were being really rough with her. She wasn’t talking or trying to fight back or anything. I didn’t think it was fair. School officials have to conduct searches in a “reasonable” way. That means they can’t be “excessively intrusive” or forceful in their searches, in light of your age, sex, and what they’re looking for. A “seizure” of your belongings also has to be “reasonable.” So, for example, school officials can’t take away your stuff for longer than needed to find out whether their suspicion was correct.
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