Continuing our series on what is permissible regarding school searches, we turn to how far officials can go when investigating students suspected of criminal activity. The school environment does permit searches under certain circumstances, especially where necessary to ensure student safety on school grounds. However, the reasonableness standard still applies and students do have rights. If you or your child was arrested based upon a questionable search, an Illinois school searches defense attorney can help.
Overview of Searches in Schools
Any type of search is still subject to scrutiny under the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution. The Supreme Court of the US (SCOTUS) made certain key findings in this area of the law:
- The Fourth Amendment does apply to certain school employees, who qualify as “public officials” when it comes to conducting a search.
- The protection against unlawful search and seizure is subject to a reasonable expectation of privacy standard. In other words, the Fourth Amendment only covers situations in which a person does have a reasonable expectation of privacy.
- In some situations, students do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy at school, so searches by school officials are not always prohibited by the Fourth Amendment.
- Regardless of privacy issues, there are other factors to consider as far as reasonableness as the standard applies to students at school.
Reasonableness in the School Environment
Though a student’s expectation of privacy does not always prohibit searches, school officials must still meet a two-part test in respecting a student’s constitutional rights. If these two factors are met, the search is allowable by law:
- The search was justified at the outset, meaning the official had reasonable grounds to believe that criminal activity did or is about to occur; and,
- The search was reasonable in scope, which is based upon what the official expected to uncover and what would be considered invasive for the student.
Additional Factors on Reasonableness
In the 2009 case of Safford Unified School District #1 v. Redding, SCOTUS went into more detail in covering the two-part test above. The case involved a female high school student who was searched on suspicion that she was selling illegal drugs at school. Officials had searched the girl’s backpack and outer clothing – both of which were permissible under the TLO standard.
However, officials went further to search the student’s undergarments, including her bra and underpants. SCOTUS reviewed the surrounding facts and determined that there was no indication that she was hiding drugs in her underwear, so continuing the search to these areas was prohibited by the Fourth Amendment and could impose liability upon the school board and the school officials.
Discuss Strip Searches with a Qualified School Searches Defense Attorney
In comparing recent SCOTUS decisions on searches in schools, it is clear that – even though students have a lowered expectation of privacy – there are still limits on what officials are allowed to do. Sex, age, and surrounding circumstances are important to justifying a search, but these factors raise complicated constitutional questions. For more information, please contact Glasgow & Olsson. You can schedule a consultation at our Schaumburg, IL office by calling 847.577.8700 or going online.
(image courtesy of Ruben Rodriguez)