[RooRman]

You think your rights mean much when you attend a public school which is property of the state and therefore that states government?

In the distant past, I was told by my former high-school principal that probable cause was not necessary in order for a teacher or faculty member to conduct a search of a student. Only "reasonable suspicion" is required to effect a search for drugs, weapons or other contraband. "Reasonable suspicion" my friends is what we call a legal gray-area in the respect that it can be stretched and perverted in an attempt to justify whatever blatent violation of your basic human rights they see fit to commit next.

Teachers and faculty members of public schools are NOT sworn police officers in any way shape or form. However, this seems to allow them to suffer the disillusion that they are in this respect "above the law" when overseeing students attending the school in which they work. Police must abide by the law carefully and acquire a search warrant before conducting a search. Violation of proper search protocol can result in the case being thrown out of court. Sadly it seems if you happen to be a student attending a public school, you are not even afforded these basic legal rights. In this case, police were used outrightly no doubt by request of the school. The result was students being stripped of their rights entirely with no legal backing whatsoever. Of course this is what happens when you enter a government building. Welcome to the American public school... check your rights at the door.

I have always said these illegal searchs conducted without consent are an outright abuse of power and clear violation of the law. However, when the victims are minors not one of them can stand up and fight an unjust system without the adults of said minors wanting to see the system change themselves. You have the RIGHT to refuse consent to be searched by anyone other then the officer of the law acting in his/her official capacity and conducting the search under the proper parameters dictated by the law.

Furthermore, believe it or not truancy (failure to attended school on a regular basis) in most school districts is an arrestable and/or punishable offense for students under the age of sixteen. Therefore, you are all but forced to make regular attendance at a place where your Constitutional rights essentially mean nothing. Think about that one.