Schools May Search Student Cars, Says Appellate Court

Schools May Search Student Cars, Says Appellate Court

On Nov. 10, a state appellate court ruled that school officials may search a student’s car without a search warrant if it is parked with permission on school grounds and if they have reasonable suspicion that evidence of illegal activity will be found in the car.

This case involved a suspected drug sale in 2006 by a student at Egg Harbor Township High School. The school’s resource officer and an assistant principal searched the student’s car after finding pills suspected to be illegal drugs in his pockets. The student was arrested and charged with possession and distribution of steroids and diazepam, or Valium.

The student’s attorney charged that the search of the car should not have been allowed.

The court disagreed. “We conclude that the privacy interests of students are outweighed by the substantial interest of teachers and administrators in maintaining a drug-free environment in the classroom and on school grounds,” wrote Appellate Court Judge Linda Baxter. Baxter cited a 1985 U.S. Supreme Court ruling involving a Piscataway High School student that established that school officials with a reasonable suspicion are permitted to search a student’s belongings, and that to maintain order in the schools does not require strict adherence to the requirement that searches be based on probable cause.

However, the court did emphasize its holding was limited to the search of a student’s vehicle on school grounds where school officials control students’ ability to park. “We leave for another day the more difficult question of the standards to be applied when the student’s vehicle is parked on a public street rather than on school grounds, or, if parked on school grounds, when no advance permission to do so is required,” concluded the decision. The full text of the decision is available online.