HAWAII BOE MAY OK SCHOOL LOCKER SEARCHES

State Board of Education officials expect to encounter vocal
opposition next month when they take up a proposal to allow locker
searches and the use of drug-sniffing dogs on school campuses statewide.

But even as the American Civil Liberties Union, legal experts, some
principals and students express concern over the proposed revisions to
the schools' disciplinary code, board members say they expect the
proposal will pass when taken up by the full board at a
yet-to-be-scheduled meeting.

At the request of the state attorney general's office, the board is
considering searches "with or without cause" and the use of drug
detection canines on public school campuses, said board member Mary
Cochran, whose committee on Monday gave preliminary approval to the
Chapter 19 disciplinary code changes.

Previously, the panel backed away from "without cause" searches. But
following an executive session discussion with the attorney general's
office, the committee decided in a majority vote to reinstate the language.

Four members of the 11-member panel voted against the
change.

"While I don't necessarily have a problem with the dogs being on
campus, when you say we can search a locker without cause, I just have
some concern about that phrase and what it could imply," said Karen
Knudsen, chairwoman of the state BOE.

Knudsen, Kim Coco Iwamoto, Garrett Toguchi and Lei Ahu Isa voted
against the disciplinary code changes.

The proposal will now move on to the full 14-member board for approval
at an upcoming meeting.

Three Maui County schools allowed drug-sniffing dogs on campus in a
five-month pilot program in the first half of this year. Officials
said the program was generally well-received. Two O'ahu private
schools, Saint Louis and Academy of the Pacific, have also used
drug-sniffing dogs for several years.

Jon Van Dyke, a professor with the University of Hawai'i's William S.
Richardson School of Law, said locker searches and drug-sniffing dogs
would be an infringement on student privacy rights and would be "a
step in the wrong direction."

Van Dyke, who is co-author of "Checklists for Searches and Seizures in
Public Schools," a guide used by school districts nationwide, said
that under the state's constitution, the government must have a
compelling interest to limit privacy.

He also noted that previous versions of Chapter 19, the state
Department of Education's disciplinary code, contained "rules that
there is an expectation of privacy" for students.

"You have to have some evidence that some specific person is violating
the law or a school rule before conducting a search," Van Dyke said.

Cochran, who had previously supported the removal of the "without
cause" clause, said she now supports it, believing that students don't
have an expectation of privacy when using a school locker.

Lois Perrin, legal director at the American Civil Liberties Union of
Hawai'i, said the ACLU continues to monitor the board's effort to
change the disciplinary code and noted that the organization opposes
locker searches, dog sniffs and rules about cyberbullying.

"Students do not check their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse
door," Perrin said.

Michael Nakano, the principal at Lahainaluna High School, where
drug-sniffing dogs were used, said the pilot project was well-received
by parents and students.

"The reason we wanted the dogs here was because we wanted a safe and
secure campus," he said. "It was a deterrent, a preventative measure."

Davin Sakamoto, a senior at Waipahu High School, said he doesn't
object to locker searches or the use of drug-sniffing dogs.

"I think the only reason people would oppose it would be if they have
something to hide," he said.

However, his classmate Dongie Agnir said he wouldn't be comfortable
with the proposed changes.

"It sounds to me like an invasion of privacy. I think if they can do
it without cause, that would be very invasive," he said.