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SCHOOL SEARCH AND SEIZURE: AN OVERVIEW OF THE LAW. Juvenile Defense Network Youth Advocacy Department - Committee for Public Counsel Services1. There are very few cases in Massachusetts that address the issue of search and seizure in schools.
- Can A Student Be searched at School and Have Their Property taken?
- Can A Student’S School Locker Or Desk Be searched?
- Can The School Search My Pockets, Backpack, Or Other Personal items?
- Can A Police Officer Search My Pockets, Backpack and Other Personal items?
- Can A Student Be Questioned by School Staff?
- What Is A Custodial setting?
Students have an “expectation of privacy” that applies outside and on school property. However, there are different rules for the different locations. There are also different rules based on who is doing the search and what item is being searched.
Generally, any item that is considered property of the school can be searched without letting the student or the parent know. School staff can also give permission to the police to look in your locker or desk, even though you use it. Schools may have a policy on this and must be provided to students upon request.
When it comes to your body and property, there are rules that must be followed. Which rules apply depends on who is doing the search. School staff may search a student if there are “reasonable grounds” that the search will turn up evidence that the student broke a school rule. This means that staff have more than a hunch that the student did someth...
If a police officer is doing the search, a different set of rules apply. The police must follow a higher standard to search you. The police must have either 1. “Probable cause,” (Probable cause means a reasonable person believes a crime was, is, or will be committed.) or 2. a search warrant from a Court. If the police do not have probable cause or ...
School staff have the right to question students. Maine law does not say anything about whether the school has to first contact your parent. The school district may have a policy that talks about this. Check the school’s website or call the administration office to see if there is a policy. It is important to know that anything a student says to sc...
Generally, students are in a custodial setting when they are with the police and are not free to leave. If the police question the student when they are not free to leave, it is a “custodial interrogation.” There are two factors to look at: 1. What were the circumstances leading up to you being in the setting, and 2. Would a “reasonable person” hav...
Dec 20, 2022 · In the United States, public schools are generally allowed to search students' backpacks as long as the search is reasonable under the circumstances. The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures, but it is generally understood that this protection applies to searches of a person's body ...
Cases in which school district’s and its employees were found liable to students for unreasonable searches include a case involving a strip search of a elementary school student to find a missing $3 and a search of a student’s mobile phone with no reasonable basis to search the phone.
To determine whether a search is justified at its inception, a court will look at various factors, including but not limited to: The child’s age, history, and record in school; The prevalence and seriousness of the problem in the school to which the search was directed;
The Supreme Court has said that public school students have an expectation of privacy in their bodies—and in personal possessions they bring to school, such as backpacks, clothes, cell phones, and purses. [1] When can school officials search students or their belongings?
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Feb 5, 2019 · Schools have more leeway than police when searching students’ pockets, backpacks, lockers, and other belongings, but there are limits. Learn how Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure apply in public schools.
