Should Probable cause be alright in School K-12

Probable cause, the 4th amendment, search and seizer. School administrators face severe threats to school safety and are simultaneously held increasingly accountable to the public and policymakers to keep students safe. To keep schools safe, most administrators err on the side of searching rather than not searching. Administrators' judgments are protected by governmental immunity as long as the search is not knowingly or willfully illegal. In fact, an administrator will not incur civil liability unless his or her conduct violates clearly established statutory or constitutional rights Harlow v. Fitzgerald, (1982). With that said, the question brought into light is the Constitutionality, it's application and protection's covering students in school K-12. There have been Supreme Court cases, post-New Jersey v. T.L.O.2 federal, Pennsylvania and other state court cases that had set precedent in the applied rights and/or protections related to search and seizure in K-12 public schools. In the wake of parent heightened fears surrounding the deaths of innocent children who were murdered by various methods while walking to, from or on school campus parents and school officials sometimes rush to solve the problem. The solution or remedy is generally guided by emotion rather than sound mind. Also, creating a minefield of unforeseen consequences that begin to outweigh the benefits. Sound policies guided and created using applicable law. and enforced by all affected party's would work towards reducing fear and tension. Education, communication, in addition to policy and procedural follow-up to steer the ship through clear water with confidence. References Probable Cause and Reasonable Suspicion. (n.d.) West's Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2. (2008). Retrieved September 26 2016 from http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com... December 2001/January 2002 | Volume 59 | Number 4 Understanding the Law Pages 31-35; http://www.ascd.org... in loco parentis. (n.d.). Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. Retrieved September 26, 2016 from Dictionary.com website http://www.dictionary.com... "Probable cause" means that the officer must possess sufficiently trustworthy facts to believe that a crime has been committed. In some cases, an officer may need only a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity to conduct a limited search. Reasonable suspicion means that the officer has sufficient knowledge to believe that criminal activity is at hand. This level of knowledge is less than that of probable cause, so reasonable suspicion is usually used to justify a brief frisk in a public area or a traffic stop at roadside. To possess either probable cause or reasonable suspicion, an officer must be able to cite specific articulable facts to warrant the intrusion. Items related to suspected criminal activity found in a search may be taken, or seized, by the officer.Individuals receive no Fourth Amendment protection unless they can demonstrate that they have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the place that was searched or the property that was seized. The U.S. Supreme Court explained that what "a person knowingly exposes to the public, even in his own home or office, is not a subject of Fourth Amendment protection…. But what he seeks to preserve as private, even in an area accessible to the public, may be constitutionally protected." Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 88 S. Ct. 507, 19 L. Ed. 2d 576 (1976).