Students and the Fourth Amendment--Article Responses

I read the article titled "'Sexting' Suit Tests Searches of Student Cell Phones" as well as the response to the article which was titled, "ACLU and PA School Board Association Working On Guidelines For School Administrators On Searching Students' Cell Phones." I found these articles to be very interesting because they seemed to really relate to our school and were interesting because it is something that I think many people fear here at DHS. In this case, a high schooler from Pennsylvania had her cell phone confiscated because she was using it during the school day. Upon receiving her cell phone, the principal began to rummage through the contents of the phone, searching through her pictures, text messages, e-mails, etc. Upon looking through her pictures, the principal of her school found naked pictures that she took of herself that were stored on her cell phone. Upon viewing these images, the high school student was suspended for three days, and she filed a lawsuit against her school for unlawfully searching through her phone. In New Jersey v. T.L.O., it was established that the search of a student by a school official must be “justified at its inception” and is “permissible in its scope when the measures adopted are reasonably related to the objectives of the search and not excessively intrusive in light of the age and sex of the student and the nature of the infraction.” Because the photos were not in plain view upon looking at the cell phone and required three steps to acquire them, this high school student argued that the search of her cell phone was illegal and therefore her punishment was unjust. The student won the case and the school had to pay her for all of her legal fees and for their wrongdoing. I found this to be really interesting because it is something that I hear a lot at DHS. When people get their cell phones confiscated and taken to the Dean's Office, many people worry that their phones will be searched. Upon reading this article, it now seems to me that this cannot be done unless there is a justifiable reason, as established in T.L.O. Students are entitled to their privacy and therefore cannot have their things searched unless there is a legitimate reason for it to be done.