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Ask an Attorney About Student Rights: Rocio Córdoba
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| Rocio Córdoba is a staff attorney at the ACLU of Southern California and the director of the Latina Rights Project. |
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| < haz clic aqui para español! > |
1) What are our rights about search and seizure? (Santa Monica High)
First, it is important to know that the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution applies to young people as well as adults. One of the amendments in the Bill of Rights, the Fourth Amendment, prevents the police and other government officials from searching a person or his or her property without first meeting certain specific requirements.
Because public schools are run by the government, school officials must also follow the Constitution. That means that you don’t give up your right to privacy when you go to school. Under the law, if a school official want to search you, he or she must generally meet two requirements. First, in most cases, there must be a "reasonable suspicion," based on specific facts, that the search will turn up evidence that you are violating the law or a school role. For example, a principal would have to have specific information—not just a hunch or a rumor—that would lead a reasonable person to believe you broke the law or a school rule. Second, the search must be conducted in a "reasonable" way, based on your age and what they are looking for.
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2) What are our rights regarding freedom of speech? (Santa Monica High)
Freedom of speech is a guarantee of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This protects what you say, what you write, and your right to meet freely with other people in clubs, organization, rallies, and demonstrations. The California Constitution has a similar, and even broader guarantee that protects freedom of speech for people in the state.
Your right to free speech is also protected while you are in school, both by the First Amendment and by special California education laws. For example, one of these law protects students against censorship of public school newspapers and yearbooks, handing out leaflets, wearing buttons and posting notices on school bulletin boards. However, even under these legal protections, a public school can adopt reasonable rules that regulate the "time, place and manner in which students exercise these rights. Schools may also ban certain types of speech that are not protected, even outside the school setting. California law requires school districts that adopt rules controlling speech and press activities to put them in writing.
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