And if they feel the law was broken, then they would make an arrest. The private religious military school is similar to public schools in its rules for searches, she said. The courts generally are very liberal in allowing educational administrators to conduct searches when they have probable cause. Burke said the school arranges for the police K-9 unit to conduct a search about two or three times a year. Other times, when there is reason to believe drugs might be on campus, the K-9 officers are called.
Public schools are even more active in trying to find drugs than the private schools.
Chatham County Schools campus police chief Ulysses O. Bryant Jr. Students are kept separate from the dogs, but their belongings can be searched for both weapons and drugs. Arrests are made based on the circumstances, although Bryant could not say how many arrests are made each year. Chatham County Sheriff's Department Cpl. Tommy Tillman said his agency has agreements with public and private schools to search the schools with trained dogs. The courts have ruled that there is probable cause to search bags and other belongings if a trained narcotics dog alerts on them.