Fourth Amendment Rights

Fourth Amendment rights are and should be reduced in a school setting. This should be done to protect the privacy and students as well as the safety of the school. School is a protected environment. A search in school is allowed as long as it is "reasonable." I think that this policy is okay and students may be searched with reasonable suspicion, but drug testing must be left to the police. The school has no business drug testing students. Drug testing students goes beyond privacy rights. As we learned in class during the debate, drug testing can seriously alter student and teacher relationships. If a teacher was involved in the test or a part of it, this realtionship could become awkward and uncomfortable. If this teacher suggested the test the student may hate the teacher. It is not the teachers place or responsibility to suggest a drug test. The teacher should talk to the student or go about the issues without violating their privacy. On one hand, it makes sense to drug test athletes and make sure their is nothing being taken to enhance performance or harm them. But if one group of people is tested, it is only fair to test everyone in the school. That becomes a violation of rights. It has been argued by respondants that these tests are said to be confidential, but don't do a good job guarenteeing this. "...the intrusion on students' privacy is significant necause the policy fails to protect effectively against the diclosure of confidential information...the school has been careless in protecting the information..."(pink sheet). This shows that student rights are violated. This test does not have guarenteed privacy. Becasue of this, students should not have to be drug tested in schools. This is the police's job, the school must stay out of this. It is one thing to call the police and have them do it, but another to invade privacy and conduct it themselves.

In the case of the searched cell phone at Pennsylvania high school, a students cell phone was searched. This device is private. As long as no one is being harmed, her cell phone is her own business. On the phone the administrators found nude pictures. This student's rights were violated because those pictures were not intended to be shown and distributed. This is a violation of this girl's privacy. It was okay for the teacher to take the phone when she was using it innapropriately in class. Searching the phone was the action that took everything to a whole new level. Alot of private information is stored on cell phones. If there was a major life or death situation, in which it would be a good idea to search the phone to save lives, a cell phone should never be searched. There was no reasonable suspicion, probable cause, or reasonableness to search the phone. This was wrong of the principal. The principal would not want a student to see these types of  pictures if them, but the feelings are mutual. It is uncomfortable and disgusting that the principal has now seen these pictures, and the principal's own fault. This was a serious violation of privacy and Fourth Amendment Rights.