Section 10-037.
Searches of Students and Student Lockers
Searches of lockers and students shall
be conducted in accordance with the rules approved by the board.
No law enforcement officer may search any locker without a search warrant
unless he has the consent of the building Principal and is accompanied by the
Principal.
In order to protect the health, safety,
or welfare of students under school jurisdiction, building Principals are
authorized to search students. No
strip searches shall be conducted by school authorities.
All searches shall be carried out in the presence of an adult witness.
Search of Lockers
The lockers in the schools of the
district shall be under supervision of the building Principal and assigned to
the student for the storage of school materials and clothing necessary to school
attendance. (Whenever the Principal
is mentioned in this rule, it shall be construed so as to include "or
designated representative".)
The building Principal shall have sole
custody of the combination or key to all locker locks in a storage place
designed to guard against unauthorized access or use.
He may search any locker at any time he believes that the locker contains
matter prohibited by law or school regulations (Cf. JCDA-R) from being on school
property. Such search may be made
without notice to the student to whom such locker has been assigned.
Students are prohibited from placing locks, other than the regularly
issued school lock, on their lockers.
Any person other than the building
Principal who wishes to search a student's locker shall report to the building
Principal before proceeding to the locker, and in no event shall such person be
permitted to search the student's locker without the Principal's consent unless
such person has a valid search warrant authorizing him to make such search.
If a law enforcement officer desiring
to search a student's locker has a warrant for such search, the Principal shall
immediately take such person to the student's locker and permit him to search
the locker. The search shall be made
in the presence of the Principal.
If a law enforcement officer desires to
search the student's locker without a warrant, the building Principal shall ask
what facts lead the officer to believe that evidence of a crime will be lost,
destroyed, or moved if the search and seizure did not take place immediately,
before a warrant is obtained. If the
building Principal is not of the same opinion, he shall not allow the law
enforcement officer to proceed on his own responsibility.
The Principal shall report the incident to the Superintendent, and they
may notify the officer's superior of the incident.
Prohibited items recovered from a
student's locker shall remain in the custody of either the building Principal or
the law enforcement officer. If such
items are turned over to law enforcement officials, the Principal shall receive
a receipt for the items.
Search of the Student
When it has been determined by the
building Principal that there is reason to believe that a student is in
possession of an object which can jeopardize the health, welfare, or safety of
other students, that student shall be ordered to report to the building
Principal's office. This
determination may be based on any information received by the building
Principal, designated representative, or by a member of the faculty or staff.
It also may be based on knowledge of the student's disciplinary problems,
the student's association with known drug offenders, the student's exhibiting
objects associated with drug use, or the student's exhibiting such objects as
bullets or a knife sheath which could be associated with dangerous weapons.
Once in the Principal's office, the
student shall be advised of the reason why he has been ordered to report to the
Principal's office. The student
shall then be requested to empty items such as, but not limited to, pockets,
purses, shoulder bags, and briefcases. Items
which the building Principal believes may be connected with illegal activity may
remain in the custody of the building Principal, unless such items are turned
over to law enforcement officials; and if this is done, the Principal shall
receive a receipt for such items so delivered.
If the student refuses to comply with
this request, the building Principal shall notify the student's parents and
request that they come to the school at once.
The building Principal shall advise the parents of the immediate
situation. If the parents of the
student are unable to persuade the student to comply, the parents and the
student shall be advised that law enforcement officials will be notified, and
the matter turned over to them. If
the parents refuse to come to the school or are unable to be notified and the
student continues to refuse to cooperate, the building Principal shall notify
law enforcement officials and inform them of the facts.
Any further search of the student shall be at the discretion and under
the control of the law enforcement officials with a valid warrant.
Once the building Principal has
relinquished control of the student to the law enforcement officials, the
building Principal shall remain with the student and be present during any
search of the student made by law enforcement officials on school property.
A written report of each search shall be made by the building Principal
and submitted to the Superintendent. The
written report shall contain the name of the student; the time, date, and place
of the search; the reason or reasons for the search; the fact that law
enforcement officials were called; the name of the person who conducted the
actual search; the names of the persons present while the student was being
searched; the result of the search; and the objects confiscated.
The Superintendent shall keep a copy of the written report on file.
Approved by Board