ABSTRACT
School officials who have a reasonable suspicion of improper activity can search the lockers of US public school students. Many districts, supported by state legislatures, have asserted the right to search lockers without constitutional impediment. Proponents of privacy rights claim that students have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their lockers, which are given to them for exclusive personal use, are equipped with locks, and hold private belongings. Many states have passed laws declaring that lockers are the property of schools, which can open and search them at any time. Policies vary from district to district, dependent on state laws, court rulings, and school board rules. In practice, there are few constitutional limitations on school officials who wish to have access to lockers. Police officers must adhere to Fourth Amendment constraints when they are in schools. Schools nevertheless find themselves acting more as police officials than as parents in their relations to students.
