Privacy and Public School Students

From the article:

Since September 11, 2001, many public institutions have been trying to strike the proper balance between security and privacy...Public school students, and adults, have the same concerns about privacy. They want control over who searches their possessions and their bodies and who has access to information about them.

Students and their parents who think school officials have acted in a way that does not properly respect students’ privacy may challenge the action. Occasionally the challenge results in litigation. The U.S. Supreme Court hears only a small fraction of the cases it is asked to review, so its decision to hear three cases involving student privacy in its 2001–2 term is noteworthy. This article provides a brief overview of the two issues before the Court: searches of students and student records.