To Search or Not to Search

At Triton, there are problems with smoking and vaping on school grounds. If a student is caught smoking anything then the school searches through that student’s bag to find any objects that violate school policy. This is similar to the case of New Jersey vs. T.L.O.

Terry was a high school freshman at Piscataway High School in New Jersey, who generated quite the uproar by smoking in her school’s bathroom. When a teacher found her she was subject to have her purse searched, invading on her privacy. She argued the search was violating her Fourth Amendment, but later the Supreme Court decided that it was actually reasonable for the school to search her purse.

Terry went to court with possession of marijuana, and she appealed her conviction saying that her Fourth Amendment right protected against “unreasonable searches and seizures,” and the school had every right to search Terry, she was violating school policies, and there was full reason to search her purse.

Piscataway High’s administrator met with both Terry and the friend she was smoking with, and after her friend admitted to smoking and Terry denied it, the administrator searched Terry’s purse. This is completely acceptable due to the fact that she had been caught smoking in the school, and he suspected everything to be in her purse.

Even in school, some students and staff expect to have their own little piece of privacy. Students have backpacks to carry books and binders, but they also leave personal belongings in their bags, and sometimes those personal belongings may not be allowed by school policy. With reasoning, which the school had in Terry’s case, school’s should be able to search through students’ bags in order to enforce policies, as well as keep other people safe. If a student was to violate a policy of the school, then that would be fair reasoning to search that student’s bag.

People could argue that it is wrong for the staff to be able to search students’ property, because students are believed to have a “legitimate expectation of privacy.” I agree that students should have a sense of privacy in school, but that privacy is not something that is constant. The privacy of students is balanced by the school’s responsibility for “maintaining an environment in which learning can take place.” If a student is caught breaking the rules at school then they should be subject to be searched.

Sources

“Facts and Case Summary – New Jersey v. T.L.O.” United States Courts, www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/educational-activities/facts-and-case-summary-new-jersey-v-tlo.

LINDA GREENHOUSE , Special to the New York Times. “HIGH COURT EASES SEARCH STRICTURES IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 16 Jan. 1985, www.nytimes.com/1985/01/16/us/high-court-eases-search-strictures-in-public-schools.html.

“New Jersey v. T.L.O.” LII / Legal Information Institute, Legal Information Institute, www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/469/325.