SAN DIEGO DISTRICT ATTORNEY The Fourth Amendment and ...

School athletics: (Vernonia School Distirct 47J v. Acton
(1995) 515 U.S. 646 [132 L.Ed.2 nd 564].)
The California Supreme Court approved a similar
program for a national college athletic organization
(NCAA). (Hill v. National Collegiate Athletic
Assn. (1994) 7 Cal.4 th 1.)
Extracurricular activities: (Board of Education of
Independent School District No. 92 of Pottawatomie
County v. Earls (2002) 536 U.S. 822 [153 L.Ed.2 nd 735].)
Students in General: Recognizing that students (K through high
school) do retain some Fourth Amendment protections, and that
school officials are, in effect, government employees, the Supreme
Court struck a balance and found that school administrators may
conduct searches of students and their personal belongings on no
more than a “reasonable suspicion.” (New Jersey v. T.L.O. (1985)
469 U.S. 325 [83 L.Ed.2 nd 720].)
A school search “will be permissible in its scope when the
measures adopted are 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.”
(Id., at p. 342.)
Constitutional Protections and Statutory Restrictions:
Cal. Const., article I, section 28(c), provides that
students and staff of public schools have “the
inalienable right to attend campuses which are safe,
secure, and peaceful.”
Ed. Code § 49050: The Education Code provides
that “(n)o school employee shall conduct a search
that involves:
Conducting a body cavity search of a pupil
manually or with an instrument.
Removing or arranging any or all of the
clothing of a pupil to permit a visual
inspection of the underclothing, breast,
buttocks, or genitalia of the pupil.”
© 2012 Robert C. Phillips. All rights reserved
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