STUDENTS HAVE RIGHTS, TOO

High school students learn about the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
They learn that the state can't poke its nose into their private
stuff without good reason. Then the principal locks the classroom
door and lets the police rifle through backpacks and lockers while
the students look on.

That's a lesson in double standards. The courts have rightly put a stop to it.

The Ontario Court of Appeal has agreed with a trial judge that a
school search in Sarnia in 2002 was not reasonable. It was a random,
warrantless search by police with sniffer dogs. The dogs did find
drugs in a backpack. That doesn't justify locking down all the
students for nearly two hours and opening their bags to agents of the state.

The court said the "usual standard" applies to police in schools: If
there's reason to search a student's bag or locker, get a warrant. As
for the school authorities themselves, they can search without a
warrant, but only if they have reason to believe they'll find drugs
on a certain person or in a certain place.

Canada's law recognizes that teenagers can be held responsible for
their crimes. It must also respect their rights as citizens.

Teachers and principals do have some latitude, as parents do, because
they need to keep their students safe. Schools are struggling to keep
drugs and weapons out of the hallways. They should do their best to
identify and catch the perpetrators.

But they can do that without violating the rights of all their
students. Good parenting fosters mutual respect, and so does good school policy.