David Iurato
The Legal Rights of Students in School
Introduction:
Imagine
you are walking down the hall and you spot a dean coming around the corner. In
order to avoid being harassed you quickly remove your “do-rag” from your head,
and stuff it into your bag. The dean saw you hastily stick something into your
knapsack and decides to bring you down to the dean’s office for questioning. Once
you are in the office, the head dean searches your bag without your permission
and discovers a small bottle of prescription “pain killers” you didn’t even
know was there. (Suddenly you remember that your shady cousin borrowed your bag
the other night!) You are hauled up to the principal’s office and suspended for
five days for violating school policy on illegal narcotics.
You might be asking yourself “Can this really happen?”
“Do school officials have the right to search my bags?” “Don’t I have rights
like every other citizen?” Pretend the
scenario above really happened. You feel your rights were violated and decide
to appeal your case. You will be acting as your own lawyer and must research
the Supreme Court case New Jersey V. T.L.O. to help build your defense.
TASK:
Using Compulegal and the
websites listed below you and a partner will research the case of New Jersey V.
T.L.O. and prepare a 3 minute oral presentation that includes all of the
following.
- Discuss the facts of the case
- Discuss the constitutional issues that New
Jersey V. T.L.O. deals with
- Discuss the Supreme Court decision and the
arguments they used to support their decision
- Present your opinion. Explain whether you agree
or disagree with the courts ruling and why.
PROCESS:
Read the directions below
and click on the highlighted text to enter various websites that will assist
your project.
- Research and create notes on the facts of the
case in New Jersey V. T.L.O.
- Using the knowledge you acquire from the facts
of the case complete the Fact/Issue
Worksheet
- Read and create notes on the Arguments
from both sides.
- Read and create notes on the full Supreme
Court decision.
- Read and create notes on at least 3 of the Precedent
Cases used by the court to aid them in their decision.
- Using all of the information you have acquired
from above create a 3 minute oral presentation that discusses the facts of
the case, the arguments of both sides, the supreme court’s decision and
what they based their decision on, and whether you agree or disagree with
the decision.
Resources
Legal Glossary
(legal Vocab)
Ask a legal Eagle
(Ask an actual lawyer a question)
Evaluation
Your grade for this project
will be based on the following rubric
Grade of A
Shows thorough understanding of the topic
Addresses
all aspects of the task
Shows
ability to analyze, evaluate, compare and contrast issues
Richly supports topic with relevant facts, examples,
and details
Shows
ability to analyze, evaluate, compare and contrast issues
Richly supports topic with relevant facts, examples,
and details
Presents
a strong and well organized Oral Presentation to the class
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 does not support all aspects
of the case.
Presents
an organized Oral Presentation
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 an Oral Presentation, 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
Does
not present an acceptable Oral Presentation
STANDARDS:
English Language Arts –
Standards 1,2,3 and 4
Social Studies – Standard 5:
Civics, Citizenship, and Government
Conclusion
After completing this project you should have a clear
understanding of the rights of students. You will have learned the guidelines
concerning search and seizure in schools concerning both students and teachers.