I think most are missing a crucial fact here:
The student in question is in high school. He is also therefore probably a minor. As unfortunate as this may sound, the Supreme Court affords a lower level of civil rights to high school students while in school. Usually, this lower level relates to safety concerns. This is why a principal is able to search anyone's bag if he has any kind of reasonable suspicion that drugs or weapons may be found, which is a way lower threshold for some bystander on the street. It is pretty clear here that no actual safety concerns could possibly be at issue with a teacher confiscating notes. However, the fact remains that the Courts are reluctant to confer upon students the same degree of protections that the Bill of Rights gives ordinary citizens of Majority. This would nonetheless be an interesting challenge to this rule, and could perhaps help define this fairly gray area of the law. My gut feeling is that this really has no traction. If this were to happen on a college campus, especially a private school, we may have something.
Slashdot Mirror
I think most are missing a crucial fact here: The student in question is in high school. He is also therefore probably a minor. As unfortunate as this may sound, the Supreme Court affords a lower level of civil rights to high school students while in school. Usually, this lower level relates to safety concerns. This is why a principal is able to search anyone's bag if he has any kind of reasonable suspicion that drugs or weapons may be found, which is a way lower threshold for some bystander on the street. It is pretty clear here that no actual safety concerns could possibly be at issue with a teacher confiscating notes. However, the fact remains that the Courts are reluctant to confer upon students the same degree of protections that the Bill of Rights gives ordinary citizens of Majority. This would nonetheless be an interesting challenge to this rule, and could perhaps help define this fairly gray area of the law. My gut feeling is that this really has no traction. If this were to happen on a college campus, especially a private school, we may have something.