Students should not expect privacy in:

• Lockers,
• Desks,
• Parking lots,
• Other school property or equipment owned or controlled by the school, or
• Their personal property in any of the areas above.

School authorities can search those areas without prior consent of students. They do not need a search warrant.

Schools can have police, including dogs, help in the searches of these areas.  They could check for:

• Illegal drugs,
• Weapons, or
• Other illegal or dangerous materials or substances.

Outside of the areas above, a school can search when they have reasonable suspicion of a violation of the law or school rules.

These searches must be appropriate and related to their objectives. The law doesn’t allow school officials to do overly intrusive searches. This depends on the age and sex of the student. It also depends on the nature of the issue they are investigating. Courts work on a case-by-case basis to determine whether strip-searches are reasonable.

To do a strip-search of a student, the school usually needs suspicion that:

• A student has committed a specific crime or violation,
• The contraband is concealed on their person, and
• The item presents a clear danger (like weapons).

If the school finds evidence that a student violated the law or school policy:

• The evidence may be retained,
• The school may take disciplinary action, and
• The evidence can be given to the police.