Question: What are teens' legal rights in school and off school grounds in Arizona?
Answer: In general, teens have the same rights as adults. Those include the right of free speech and association, the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, and the right to refuse to be questioned by the police in a criminal case.
Some of those rights are restricted a bit when one is at school. For example, a school may impose limits on the type of article chosen for publication in a school-run newspaper. Schools may also limit the expression of offensive speech and can set up a dress code. School personnel or the police may not search a student, or a student's car / backpack / purse / locker without a legally sufficient reason or a search warrant. One example of a legally sufficient reason would be a report that a student was seen on the school grounds with contraband (drugs or a weapon) in the student's possession. If the school searches a locker and finds contraband, but a court finds the school didn't have a legal reason for the search, any criminal charges for that offense could be dismissed or the evidence suppressed (thrown out of court).
Schools can set up rules and policies that outline the disciplinary system. For a school rule to be enforceable, it should be in the school's policy manual, and the school must distribute the manual to students. The best way to find out what your school's policies and rules are is to get a copy of the school's policy manual. You can request a copy from the administrative office at the school.
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On 03/02/04
Ashley from CA said:
The schools take away our pricacy by taking in dogs and police. They have to have a probable cause to search us. Well with the dogs coming in they make the probablble cause by sending in the dogs and poice. Its not fair that they can just come in and interupt class for searches ment to get us in trouble.
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On 12/14/03
unknown from AZ said:
So do schools make our laws now? because I was under the impression that the government did
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On 10/14/03
michelle from NJ said:
i agree with April...your right, if your complaining, then your probably one of those kids that are eventually just going to start trouble. By taking away your "rights" it also takes away the temptation to do anything stupid. so what if you get into a fight, your don't need a weapon to defend yourself, be a man about it. and furthermore, the federal and state government are trying to protect the students, not go against us. If everyone was allowed to carry a knife in school, then no one would ever wanna talk out their differences, they would just turn to fighting, and nothing would ever ge
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On 05/01/03
April from FL said:
Student's should not complain about rights because yes we have certain rights that is true but in school they have the right to protect us. And by protecting us we have rules just like anywhere else and anybody else. You think you are the only one that has to follow these rules? Well you are wrong. So they may be taking your "rights" away but not everyone can have what they want no matter how old you are.
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On 01/12/03
unknown from GA said:
I am totally in agree with this comment that is being discussed. Although our rights should always be aknowledged. There has been many times at our school in Jasper County that the cars and so forth have been searched without warrents or anything. There have been times when damage has been done to the student cars and not once have they ever discussed fixing the damages. I can understand them searching our lockers because we are temporarily borrowing them but our cars are personal property and that steping way over the line!!
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