TIPS

Does a teacher have the right to search their students?

By

Michael Anderson

Introduction

James Simmons reported to his homeroom teacher Mr. Alvarez that his Nintendo game boy was missing. He believed that one of his fellow classmates stole it from his desk when he wasn’t looking. Mr. Alvarez asked the class if they had seen the game boy anywhere in the room. The class said no. To be sure that the class was telling the truth Mr. Alvarez decided to conduct his own search of the class’s backpacks. The students were not asked if they objected to being searched. The game boy was found in the backpack of Steven Barnes. Barnes denied having stolen the game boy and claimed he did not know how it got into his backpack. Barnes was later taken to the dean’s office who decided to schedule a conference with his parents followed by a two day suspension.

Task

Students will take a position and decide whether they agree or disagree with the following:

Are teachers allowed to search the personal property (or physical person) of their students?

Does this action taken by a teacher violate a student’s due process rights based on the 4^th Amendment?

· Students will review the following search and seizure cases to come to a better understanding of the nature and decision of

the following case below.

TLO vs. New Jersey

· Students will write a brief report that addresses student decisions that either agree or disagree with this case.

· Students must support their opinion with facts using information from this case.

· Students will openly debate and explain their chosen position.

Process

· Students will be placed into groups with specific roles to discuss the cases and prepare an oral presentation.

· Students will go to the first resource below to obtain factual information that supports their view to write a short summary.

· Students will decide whether or not they feel the Supreme Court will agree with the decision of the lower courts to write a short summary about what their group thinks the outcome of the case will be.

· Students will go to the second resource below to determine whether they had come to the same conclusion as the courts to write a short summary about whether or not they agreed with the court’s decision.

· Students will write a brief group report based on the information collected. The report is to be written in the following format.

1) Title page

2) Introduction

3) State why they agreed or disagreed with the decision of the case

4) Conclusion

Resources

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/scales/tlovis.html

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/scales/tlo.html

Evaluation

Students will be evaluated using the following rubric:

Grade of A

· Shows thorough understanding of the topic

· Addresses all aspects of the task

· Shows ability to analyze, evaluate, compare/contrast issues

· Richly supports topic with relevant facts, examples, and details

· Presents a strong and well organized “case”

Grade of B

· Shows a good understanding of the topic

· Addresses all aspects of the task

· Shows ability to analyze, evaluate issues

· Includes relevant facts, examples, and details, but not support all aspects of the “case”

· Presents an organized “case”

Grade of C

· Presents satisfactory understanding of the topic

· Addresses most aspects of the task

· Able to analyze issues and events, but not in depth

· Uses some relevant facts, examples, and details

· Presents “case”, but not very organized

Grade of D

· Shows little understanding of topic

· Attempts to address topic, but uses vague and/or inaccurate information

· Uses little facts, examples, or details

· Cannot present an acceptable “case”

Conclusion

As a result of this Quest you have learned about student due process of search and seizure. Is a student’s rights violated based on the 4^th Amendment when he or she is searched by their teacher? Does a teacher have the right to conduct a search of a student’s person or property? If not, what rights do both the teacher and student have? Continue your research and decide for yourself.

Standards

Social Studies:

Standard 5-Civics, Citizenship, and Government

5.2-Students value the principles, ideals, and core values of the American democratic system based upon the premises of human dignity, liberty, justice, and equality.

5-4-Students respect the rights of others in discussions and classroom debates regardless of whether or not one agrees with their viewpoint.

Language Arts:

E1 Reading

E1d Demonstrate familiarity with a variety of public documents.

E2 Writing

E2a Produce a report of information

E3 Speaking, Listening, and Viewing

E3b Participate in group meetings.

E3c Prepare and deliver an individual presentation

E4 Conventions, Grammar, and Usage of the English Language

E4a Demonstrate an understanding of the rules of the English language in written and oral work.