I think that students’ expectations of privacy while in school are guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution which states that people have the right to be secure in their persons, property, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures (Siegel & Welsh, 2014). The schools must create and maintain a safe environment for students to learn. I feel that as long as the school provides safety and education then their policies should reflect. If searching the students’ property before they enter school grounds is necessary to ensure safety that is a reasonable search. Reasonable searches must be fair and impartial to all students no matter their race, ethnicity or gender. An example of an unreasonable search would be if
I just don’t like how it feels getting searched for things you’d never have in a million years. It’s not jail where the officers can look through your items whenever they want to, so how come it’s starting to feel like it. No matter what a student should be violated or have their privacy invaded. And this situation is not a good thing allot of people are getting tired of being searched for no intentional
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.
When is a search and seizure reasonable? John Vile clearly explains the origination of the Fourth Amendment and why it was created at the time of the creation of the Constitution, ¨Like the amendment that precedes it, the Fourth Amendment was largely motivated by abuses of the British when they ruled America. They had used general warrants, or so-called writs of assistance, in tracking down customs violations in the colonies. A number of states subsequently adopted provisions against such warrants, and ratifying conventions in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina all proposed amendments dealing with the subject¨(Vile). At first, the forefathers of our country created the Fourth Amendment so that the British could not infringe on the colonists privacy. The thought of privacy within schools was not even something that was of concern at the time of the creation of the Constitution. As time has gone on, our country has made advancements that our founding fathers could never have foreseen, and has left our current government to interpret the Fourth Amendment themselves. The Fourth Amendment is detrimental when it comes to someone’s privacy, especially in a school environment. It is valuable to students and teachers alike, without it teachers and staff members would be able to search a student’s belongings without a reason or warrant. The Fourth Amendment is definitely viable in the school environment because it places regulations on what the staff in the schools can do without
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 the case of New Jersey VS TLO, a high school student was held for violating school rules, with possession of smoking and having other illegal belongings on school campus property, and with an argued statement about violating her fourth amendment rights against unreasonable searches. Two Piscataway Township high school freshmen girls were smoking cigarettes in the bathroom, where they were caught by a teacher who had seen them. The teacher walked up with the two girls to the principals office, in which they met with the assistant vice principal. They were both questioned individually about violating a school rule by smoking in the bathroom. One of the girls admitted to smoking, whom surely was disciplined under school
It cannot be disputed that schools often have to place the privacy of one student, below the overall need to secure the safety of a student body as a whole. If students know that their belongings can be searched, it will discourage them from committing illegal activities at school.
The Fourth Amendment defends people from being neglected by an authoritative and controlling government. Conflicting to popular belief, the right to privacy is not specifically mentioned in the U.S. Constitution. Over the years, the courts have translated the Fourth Amendment, along with other Amendments such as the ninth, to protect privacy in many situations. In question, is there a limitation for those rights to be exercised at school? Is a student protected from unreasonable searches and seizures at school? New Jersey v. T.L.O., (1985), a case where a 14-year old girl female student caught smoking in the bathroom at school was searched at school, and the evidence collected was used by the state in her delinquency trial in juvenile court.
The intent of the Fourth Amendment is to guarantee security against unreasonable governmental searches. Because school officials are actually
This whole process has been put in place to keep citizens from having their privacy violated, but since its creation, the fourth amendment has been altered. One of the alterations deals with the reduction of public schools students’ Fourth Amendment rights while on public school campuses. This reduction has been put in place for the safety of students and school staff. Because schools are meant to be a safe place for children, school administrators are given the authority to search any student who is suspected of violating school rules with less evidence required than that of a police officer to complete a search or seizure. The administrator only requires reasonable suspicion to search a student. Reasonable suspicion requires some facts but less hard evidence than probable cause.
While there are several legal reasons to maintain the privacy of students, there are also many ethical ones, such as not wanting to expose students to embarrassing disclosures or discrimination. For example, teachers at High School One have access to student data concerning health issues. I have had student who experience seizures, who have diabetes, and rare allergies. While
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.
The topic of school officials is a very hot topic right now. Personally I feel like they should have the right to search a student’s bag but only if they have a liable reason. In some cases I feel like teachers or school officials take advantage of the fact the Supreme Court is allowing them to do so. Some kids could possibly have something personal in their bag that they don’t want anybody to see for whatever reason and they might get upset. Yet, I think if they have a good reason or they have been tipped of that student carrying a weapon or drugs I think they should be allowed to do so. By our schools being able to do this it is keeping our community and our schools a much safer place. As the prompt says I don’t think they should be able
Robby Soave says in the article, No Warrant, No Problem: Students’ Lockers Searched at Random By Drug Dogs, “These searches teach them that they have no privacy-there is no place the authorities can’t touch.” The students do need to know they don’t “run” the school, they need to be taught what’s right and what’s wrong. Sometimes that has to be learned the hard way.
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: