ABSTRACT
Although the right to privacy, unlike other individual rights, is not expressly granted in the United States Constitution's Bill of Rights, the U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted this right as part of the Fourth Amendment. This amendment guarantees in part: “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.” In addition, many states have laws ensuring privacy rights. This chapter presents five cases that illustrate the breadth, or lack thereof, of students’ (and their parents’) privacy rights and reflect the wide spectrum of court decisions addressing privacy issues. Cases include a swim instructor who thinks one of his female students is pregnant, a student's private note causing disciplinary actions, parents objecting to a transgender student's bathroom rights, middle school basketball students searched to make sure they were female, and a drug testing case.
