In another, a Youngstown area high school sought to administer drug tests for all students participating in extracurricular activities. When rights are whittled away, they tend not to return. In Mississippi, the Harrison County School Board rescinded a policy that barred a Jewish boy from wearing his Star of David pendant after the ACLU sued on his behalf. School officials had considered it a gang symbol. We would like to field such calls earlier on.
Students are just children.
Children, like adults, have legal rights. The Supreme Court, dating back to a landmark 1969 decision, has said students who attend public schools do not surrender all constitutional rights at the schoolhouse door. The Constitution's Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures, applies in public schools, but school officials get more leeway than police. And school searches of lockers and backpacks, even the use of metal detectors, are much easier to justify when the target is illegal drugs or weapons. The law is still evolving on this issue.