(The Center Square) – Lawmakers in the North Carolina House will review legislation next week designed to set parameters on student searches in schools.
The House Education Committee on Tuesday will hear Senate Bill 90 to regulate policies for student searches in public schools, the first stop in the lower chamber since unanimous approval in the Senate in March.
SB90 would mandate the governing bodies of public school units adopt policies requiring student searches to be conducted in private by one school official and an adult witness who are both the same sex as the student.
“All searches performed by school officials in accordance with the policies shall be executed using methods that are narrowly tailored to be minimally intrusive while investigating the suspected activity,” the bill reads.
The legislation follows parental complaints of “unreasonable” student searches at multiple North Carolina schools in recent years. In Cumberland County, students at Hope Mills Middle School were randomly searched in March after a decision to “enhance our current safety plan,” according to a letter sent to parents after the fact.
Parents told the media they would not have consented to the searches, including some who said they’re considering legal action. School officials justified the searches with Board Policy 4342 that allows general, suspicionless searches “to help maintain a safe, drug-free, and weapon-free learning environment,” according to a prepared statement.
District spokesman Lindsey Whitley said the search was in response to vaping and recent discoveries of weapons on campus.
SB90 was amended in the Senate to remove language that would have prohibited cavity searches or searches that require students to disrobe. The upper chamber also added an exception to the original bill “for searches conducted using a walk-through metal detector, handheld wand, or other similar minimally intrusive device designed to detect weapons and regularly used for security scanning.”
The legislation specifically states that policies regarding student searches must comply with the U.S. and North Carolina constitutions and laws.
The U.S. Supreme Court in the 1985 case New Jersey v. T.L.O. found that the Fourth Amendment prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures applies to searches conducted by public school officials.
Justices found that for searches to be legal they must be justified at the inception based on reasonable suspicion the search will reveal evidence of a violation of law or school rules, and that the search is not excessively intrusive when considering the age and sex of the student and nature of the infraction.
SB90 does not address searches of students’ personal electronics, though some districts have adopted policies allowing school officials to review student phones under certain circumstances.
SB90 is sponsored by Republican Sens. Michael Lazzara of Onslow County, Amy Galey of Alamance County, and Vickie Sawyer of Iredell County, along with five Republican co-sponsors.
If approved by the House Education Committee, the bill would head next to the House rules committee, typically the last stop before a floor vote.
