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Legal Issues in Student Searches

Get answers to commonly asked questions regarding a school official's authority to conduct reasonable student searches under the Fourth Amendment, including information on cell phone searches and random drug testing.

School officials’ authority to search a student’s person or belongings is a necessary part of maintaining school discipline and a safe learning environment. Nonetheless, student searches lead to some of the most persistent questions in school law. The following questions and answers offer a guide to some of the most common legal issues related to searches at school.