This is a Complaint pleading for use in litigation of the title matter. Adapt this form to comply with your facts and circumstances, and with your specific state law. Not recommended for use by non-attorneys.
This is a Complaint pleading for use in litigation of the title matter. Adapt this form to comply with your facts and circumstances, and with your specific state law. Not recommended for use by non-attorneys.
Students are required by law to attend school, and by statute, principals, teachers, and other school personnel may exercise the same degree of physical control over a pupil that a parent could, in order to maintain order, safety, and a learning environment.
California law generally provides students the right to exercise freedom of speech, and schools generally may not discipline students solely because they have engaged in speech that would be constitutionally protected off-campus.
26 In acknowledging the importance of the Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule in deterring illegal search and seizures of juveniles, the courts have concluded that a child who encounters an officer on the street has a legitimate expectation of privacy in his person and property.
Generally, a person has no reasonable expectation of privacy for property and personal effects they hold open to the public. The Fourth Amendment does not protect things that are visible or in "plain view" for a person of ordinary and unenhanced vision.
The Fourth Amendment applies to searches conducted by public school officials because “school officials act as representatives of the State, not merely as surrogates for the parents.” 350 However, “the school setting requires some easing of the restrictions to which searches by public authorities are ordinarily subject ...
The Supreme Court ruled in 1969 that students do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate." This is true for other fundamental rights, as well.
Although it is virtually undisputed that children have some Fourth Amendment rights independent of their parents, it is equally clear that youth generally receive less constitutional protection than adults.
Do I have First Amendment rights in school? You have the right to speak out, hand out flyers and petitions, and wear expressive clothing in school — as long as you don't disrupt the functioning of the school or violate school policies that don't hinge on the message expressed.
Children are generally afforded the basic rights embodied by the Constitution. The Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment is said to apply to children, but excludes those not yet born. There are both state and federal sources of children's-rights law.