Can Teachers Ask Students To Empty Their Pockets?

Written by Mr Mustafa in Students' Corner 

As much as we want our schools to be safe and all students to be honest, that is not always the case. Sometimes, banned items find their way into schools, and it becomes the responsibility of staff at the school to root out potentially dangerous or harmful matters. This begs the question; can teachers ask students to empty their pockets?

Teachers can ask students to empty their pockets. However, they must have reasonable suspicion that the child is committing a crime, has recently done so, or is preparing to do so. Students can refuse to be searched that way, but the school can discipline them if they reject the search.

Searching a student for contraband involves a correct understanding of the Fourth Amendment. Although a teacher needs reasonable suspicion to have a pupil empty their pockets, that term also requires a full legal explanation. Read on to discover your rights as a teacher or student.

Are Teachers Allowed To Search Students?

Teachers are allowed to search students, including having them empty their pockets, but they need a proper reason to do so. The 1985 supreme court case New Jersey v. T.L.O. ruled that, without reasonable suspicion, teachers cannot search a student or their property.

Remember that this law doesn’t apply to school property, though. A school that officially owns its lockers and computers is always allowed to search them since they are the school’s property. A teacher doesn’t need reasonable suspicion in that case.

What Is Reasonable Suspicion?

Unfortunately, reasonable suspicion doesn’t have an exact definition, not even in the Legal Dictionary. Instead, it defines reasonable suspicion as a state official must be confident that somebody has recently committed a crime or is planning to do so.

With reasonable suspicion, a state official like a public school teacher or police officer can go above and beyond their standard duties to uphold the law and protect others.

Graham Donath Law Offices cite examples of administrators searching students for drugs which shed light on the term reasonable suspicion. In Bridgman v. New Trier High School District No. 203, the court ruled that a student showing signs of drug abuse is enough to warrant a search. However, Burnham v. West concluded that the smell of marijuana in the hallways was insufficient evidence to search a specific student.

Therefore, the teacher must be confident the student has drugs, or other contraband, on their person. So, they need a reason for that suspicion, such as seeing that student smoke marijuana on school property.

Not only that, but the crime and ensuing search must also be plausible for the student in question. The Cornell Law School refers to Safford Unified School District #1 v. Redding. This case ruled that strip-searching a thirteen-year-old suspected of selling ibuprofen was unacceptable.

Similar guidelines apply to other crimes that students are likely to commit, for example, theft.

According to the Gambone Law firm, the Supreme Court ruled in New Jersey v. T.L.O. that reasonable cause requires a teacher to conduct the search appropriately. They can’t be pointlessly intrusive or search in a way that wouldn’t find anything illegal.

Can Students Be Forced To Empty Their Pockets Or Backpacks?

If a teacher has reasonable suspicion, they can tell students to empty their pockets or backpack. However, a teacher cannot force a student to do so – the Fourth Amendment ensures that the child can always reject the search.

The American Civil Liberties Union explains that this standard applies to individual students. Just because one student abuses drugs does not mean the school is entitled to search the entire student body or even one class.

Students have a right to privacy; teachers cannot force compliance.

The Graham Donath Law Offices also explains that schools are forbidden from strip-searching students. If a teacher is confident that a student is hiding banned items and that a strip search would be needed, they should notify the police instead.

Furthermore, gender also plays a role in searches. According to Cornell Law School, the Supreme Court also stressed this point in New Jersey v. T.L.O. Allowing male teachers to search a female student’s property or vice versa can enable sexual harassment.

That doesn’t mean that students have a ‘get-out-of-jail-free card,’ though. Students who refuse to let a teacher search them will break school rules.

While a school cannot force somebody to consent to a search, they can discipline them with detention, suspension, or even expulsion. School policies might require the school to contact the parents.

Private schools can also send the student home immediately since that child could be deemed as trespassing on the property if they consciously violate school rules.

So, although teachers cannot violate a student’s privacy, an uncooperative student risks breaking the disciplinary code by rejecting a search.

This standard might seem harsh, but it’s also vital to ensure that schools can be safe places for children to learn. Suppose students could reject a search with no consequences. In that case, they’d have minimal disincentive to bring banned and dangerous items onto school property, including drugs or weapons.

Can Teachers Search A Student’s Locker?

Whether teachers can search a student’s locker doesn’t only rely on reasonable suspicion.

A school retains full ownership of the lockers if it lets students use them free of charge. As school property, lockers are always available for teachers to search. Kids Legal explains that the school administration can even let the police search this property.

That rule changes if schools charge for locker usage. If they do, the students own the lockers, and the same rules as searching a student’s property or person apply now. A teacher must have reasonable suspicion before searching a child’s locker.

Remember that many schools get around this hurdle by having students sign a contract before they rent a locker. A clause of this contract is that the school retains its right to search the property without the student’s permission, getting around the need for reasonable suspicion.

These rules also apply to other assets the school allows children to use. Desks, computers, and tablets remain school property unless the school charges rent or writes an exception clause into the rental contract.

Students must never store private information on a school laptop or tablet. It isn’t safe and can be highly embarrassing even if this information isn’t illegal. Similarly, the McLellan adds that students should be wary about keeping personal belongings like medication and diaries in lockers.

Can Police Search Students?

Unlike teachers, police need a warrant or probable cause to search a student. Those justifications are a step up from reasonable suspicion. The Legal Dictionary defines probable cause as the right of a police officer to arrest somebody or search their property. It requires the presence of facts and evidence that would lead a reasonable person to believe that the suspect is guilty of a specific crime.

Like teachers, students can refuse to be searched, although the Graham Donath Law Offices warn against this practice. Instead, they recommend that a child verbally state that the search is happening without their consent.

If the police offer doesn’t have a warrant or probable cause, any evidence they find wouldn’t be admissible in court.

Nevertheless, refusing to cooperate with the police can still lead to disciplinary action from the school.

Gambone Law made an excellent video explaining how children and parents should react when police officers search school property.

Conclusion

To conclude, teachers can ask students to empty their pockets or backpack if they reasonably suspect that the student is carrying something illegal. Nevertheless, students are within their Fourth Amendment rights to refuse to do so.

Sources

Mr Mustafa

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