The Importance Of Drug Search

Many years ago, the United States Constitution was created as a guideline for the newly formed government to run this country as well as secure protection rights of all citizens. Since then, there have been many incidents that question the violation of citizens’ rights under the Constitution, such as the violation of the fourth amendment which protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures especially in the school system and on college campuses. The fourth amendment states, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized” (O’Brien, 2014). As this pertains to those citizens who are students, whether it be in the primary, secondary, or post-secondary setting, the question that unveils itself is whether or not students are entitled to their constitutional rights, in this case, the fourth amendment’s rights, while in the school environment.

Drugs are something that everyone in their life have to deal with. Many parents would feel more comfortable with officer’s drug dogs wondering around the school, just to be safe. In some ways, this could be very beneficial for the school to do just so everyone knows there going to be safe and ok. Having a safe environment to go to school is would be the ideal school, but most schools now and days are filed with druggies who haven’t been caught. A good way they could get caught is by these drug dogs. By getting caught it might teach them a lesson on why they shouldn’t do drugs. Also by getting caught it can help them get better health again. Overall there are some good reason on why the drug dogs should come to our schools.

In recent years, schools have been increasingly subjected to weaponry, drugs, and violence. School officials are seeking ways to help maintain a safe environment for their students. The increase of violence has led to many cases of controversy over students’ Fourth Amendment rights. The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures and requires a warrant to be presented and supported by probable cause. The problem with this is that requiring school officials to bring in police and for them to obtain a warrant takes time, time that these people do not have. If there is a threat that a student may possess drugs, the administration of the school needs to take immediate action in order to maintain a safe environment. Schools should be able to take any necessary action in order to keep other students safe, but should also have guidelines they must follow in extreme cases, such as strip searches.

In the case New Jersey v. T.L.O., the student’s purse was searched after the principal had reasonable suspicion that she had cigarettes in her purse since she was caught smoking in the bathroom. The court decision in this case concluded that teachers are acting as agents for the state and are therefore allowed to search if they have reasonable suspicion. Students do have the Fourth Amendment right as all people in America have. However, student’s expectation of privacy has to be balanced with the needs of the school to maintain the educational environment. Schools do not have to obtain a warrant to search, but must have reasonable suspicion in order to search a student’s person or property.

Although there are many, loving and caring students all around the world.Many students in school could have firearms and drugs on school grounds at anytime around during school hours and after. There are also bad things about searching there lockers you could maybe go through their privacy and personal belongings.

There is a serious sociological advantage that comes with the searching of school property. First, these searches will immediately improve the atmosphere of the school, turning it into a drug, alcohol, or weapon free zone. It’s a fact that students perform better in a safe environment and if said hazards are removed from school grounds, there will be a noticeable improvement among students. The removal of these hazards will also improve the community in which the school and students reside in. Say you live in a town like Fargo,

In two Supreme Court cases and one Court of Appeals case, the Fourth Amendment’s clause on searches and seizures has been questioned in a public school setting. These cases are based on the question of what constitutes a reasonable search in a public school, as well as, what is defined as a search and how far that search and seizure can go. These cases collectively examine the exclusionary rule, the change from probable cause to reasonable suspicion, what constitutes a search and how far that search can go. In a public school setting, students rights to be free from searches and seizures differ from others, as shown in TLO v. New Jersey, Vernonia v. Acton, and Doe v. Renfrow.

The intent of the Fourth Amendment is to guarantee security against unreasonable governmental searches. Because school officials are actually

With millions of dollars being spent on measures to fight weapons and drugs in schools, little reason for optimism exists due to the track record of these methods and programs. Drugs and problems still continue to be a serious problem for our youth. For example, despite spending more than 20 million dollars on the installation of metal detectors at public schools in New York City, weapons continue to be a serious problem. In order for us to have safe schools, we need to bridge the gap between

Search and seizure in schools has always been a highly debated topic. Many questions arise when the need to search students is brought to the forefront. What can be searched? Who needs to be there when items are searched? Are the student’s rights going to be violated if a search is performed? Why does the search need to be performed in the first place? Can items that are found be used against the student in court? These are areas that need to be looked at closely when a search needs to be conducted. In this paper, I will look into what exactly search and seizure is when related to schools, the Constitutional Amendments and provisions included with search and seizure, and landmark cases that have paved the way for searches in schools across the nation. At the conclusion, one will understand the guidelines that need to be followed so that students’ rights are not violated, and the ultimate goal of the searches, the safety of students, can be maintained.

An approximated 260 teachers are being physically abused every day for doing their job. Any students that are suspected of being involved with a school shooting plan, should be searched by administration with authority. If contraband is found, then they could decide to turn them over to the police if it was felony or involved weapons on school grounds or to find rehab for them if it involved drugs. Locker searches would greatly reduce the risk of school shootings, but other measures, such as more evasive action could help reduce the amount of teachers and students at

Ever since the first school shooting, a lot of people have changed their beliefs on this subject. I was in eighth grade when the shooting at Columbine High School took place. Before that shooting, I never would have considered something like that happening. Now, it is seventeen years later and school shootings almost seem like an everyday thing. That is sad, but it is true. This is why I believe a student should not have a high expectation of privacy while at school. The law used to be more lenient, but these circumstances have changed that. Right after Columbine, a lot of states had a zero tolerance law. According to the Center for Public Education site, this law said that if a student was caught with contraband they were given a strict punishment, no matter what the circumstance was. The laws have changed some over the last few years, and are not quite as strict as that. The schools still have to ensure that every student is safe, though. It is common for schools to have metal detectors or bring in dogs on a regular basis. Once they have a reason to suspect a student, they have the right to search their belongings. I believe this is well within their rights as administrators who are trying to protect the school as a whole. I realize that students may feel violated, I have been there. It was always an inconvenience to have to sit outside the hallways while the dogs searched each room. I never felt like it was wrong when they did find something though. So many students would bring large amounts of drugs, guns and knives to school. If it weren’t for the measures that the school took they would just be walking around with these items. I hope these laws never change, and my kids have the same protection that I did. I would hate to imagine my child going to school with guns and drugs within an arm’s reach. I believe the issue of student’s privacy is one that many people can agree with each other on.

Prior to the landmark ruling by the United States Supreme Court, New Jersey v. T.L.O., 469 U.S. 325, 105 S. Ct. 733, 83 L. Ed. 2d 720 (1985), the clarity on how search and seizures applied to students in public schools were unclear. A particular case from 1969 can shed some light regarding on how the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution defines student rights in public schools. In Tinker v. Des Moines, 393 U.S. 503, 89 S. Ct. 733; 21 L. Ed. 2d 731 (1969), the court found that:

If you saw police officers and drug sniffing dogs approaching a high school, would you think anything of it? Probably not. In the world we live in today, this has become part of the "norm", as it is a common attempt to decrease on school drug usage. Unannounced school searches, with the use of drug sniffing dogs, prevent illegal drug use and provide punishment for students not abiding by the law.

When we are offered the use of drug dogs we can decrease the amount of drugs brought into the school as the dogs pose a threat to the students. Although we can’t regulate what students do outside of school we can only regulate what happens inside school. As well as If students know drug dogs are being used randomly in school students wont be tempted to bring narcotics onto school campus . On the other hand those that oppose school searches may believe these dogs should be banned from school campus. For example, some say the dogs cause a threat to American rights but from my point of view they don't. Schools have principles and regulations that are enforced in which one of those rules is absolutely no tolerance for drugs on school campus from past experiences that have occurred in school. These rules including the no drugs on campus rule protect the people and the area around them. From this we can conclude that drug dogs can prohibit the use and distribution of drugs on campus.