Question: Can a school official search your backpack without permission?
Answer: The short answer is not unless the official has a 'reasonable suspicion' that something wrong has occurred and that evidence of the wrong will be found in the backpack.
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution states that people have a right to be secure against unreasonable searches of themselves and their belongings.
The United States Supreme Court has decided that the Fourth Amendment applies to schools and that a search must meet the following requirements:
1. The motivation for the search must be reasonable in light of the information that the school official obtained that made him or her think a search was necessary; and
2. The measures adopted for the search must be reasonably related to the objectives of the search and not excessively intrusive in light of the age and sex of the student and the nature of the infraction.
A 'reasonable suspicion' is a belief or opinion based on the facts or circumstances. So if a school official has a reasonable suspicion that some wrong doing has occurred and that evidence of that may be found in your backpack, that official can probably search your backpack without your permission
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On 11/12/03
mike from CA said:
i believe minros (all of us under 18) are not guaranteed the bill of rights. we dont have freedom of speech, we cant vote, we dont have the right to remain silent yata yata yata. bottom line, WE DONT HAVE ANY RIGHTS!!!
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On 11/11/03
Chris from AR said:
First and foremost, We do have internet and running water in Arkansas. Don't make any more jokes about us, because if you were to visit Little Rock or another city, you would find that we are probably more advanced than you.
Second of all:
Second, if you were to Actually READ what the law says, you would find that school officials do have the right to search your backpack if they feel that there is a situation, and they feel like they need to, like in the animation, they have every right to search your back pack. The judge and cops would agree with what I just said, so don't do anything il
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On 11/11/03
jason from AZ said:
I think you're wrong if you want to give in to people searching your backpacks. There is a reason why America is so great -- WE ARE BASED ON LAWS. If there are laws in place to protect you from having your packpack searced -- USE IT!
Don't be stupid and say "Oh, well, I don't care, let them search me." Hey, great! Now you just set the tempo for the rest of the class and have given the evil empire a vote of confidence that they can walk all over you.
America is heading to Hell in a handbasket because YOU people stop caring. We are the future of America, let's make it something worth grow
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On 05/15/03
paul from CA said:
there is no way that a school official or a peace officer may search your backpack at any time without your permission or valid suspision or proof, this is under the 4th admendment of the bill of rights. However they may at any time search your locker becasue this is school property. And you may take any case to court, so if you have to leave your backpack in your locker and they search your backpack without your permission you can take action for crimminal trespassing and invading of privacy.
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On 05/05/03
Anonymous from TX said:
School officials should not take advantage of students who do not know their right. Students should have more education on their rights.
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