ATTORNEY GENERAL ISSUES INFORMAL OPINION SUPPORTING SCHOOL'S DRUG SEARCH

Using dogs to sniff students' bags for drugs is permissible,
according to an informal opinion from the Missouri attorney general's
office.

The opinion, which spokesman Scott Holste said should not be taken as
specific legal advice, was requested after Park Hill High School
students and faculty complained to the American Civil Liberties Union
that a February drug search violated their constitutional rights.

During the search at the Northland school, students were asked to
exit classrooms but to leave their personal belongings behind to be
sniffed by drug dogs.

Dick Kurtenbach, the ACLU region's executive director, had said that
the search would not be warranted under the Fourth Amendment, which
prohibits unreasonable search and seizure by the government.
"Unreasonable" would mean without probable cause, he had said.

Park Hill informed the ACLU of the opinion but had not heard a
response, said school district spokeswoman Nicole Kirby.

The opinion was issued this week.

Kurtenbach could not be reached for comment Friday.

According to Attorney General Jay Nixon's opinion, sniffing by dogs
does not constitute a search. Nixon cited case law demonstrating the
right of a police officer to separate students from their personal
belongings for a limited time.

"If school officials have information that makes it reasonable for
them to believe that drugs are a problem, and are present in
classrooms, I believe that the limited intrusion that occurs when
school officials have a drug dog survey the empty classroom where
students' personal property remains is constitutional and
permissible," he wrote.

But the opinion pointed out that the specific issue of whether
requiring students to leave their property in the classroom was
considered a reasonable seizure had not been addressed by an
appellate court.

Park Hill principal Brad Kincheloe said the opinion gave the school
the latitude to conduct similar searches in the future.

"It's our hope that students who have been bringing drugs to school
in the past will know that this is not a safe place to do business,"
Kincheloe said. "We want this to be a safe place to do the business
of education."

Despite his confidence that no constitutional rights were violated,
Kincheloe publicly apologized to students about a week after the
search.

"Some students felt we were not as polite and informative in our
instructions as we could have been, and although we were certain we
hadn't violated anyone's rights, it's important for us to maintain an
environment of respect in our school," he said.