TEACHERS CAN SEARCH STUDENTS, COURT RULES

OTTAWA (CP) - A vice-principal at a junior high school was vindicated
when the Supreme Court of Canada ruled he had a right to search a
student he believed was carrying drugs on school premises.

The decision yesterday effectively means students should not expect
the same privacy they might enjoy outside school premises.

A Halifax-area teenager went to the Supreme Court to argue that
Michael Cadue violated his right to privacy when the vice-principal
searched him during a school dance and found marijuana hidden in his
sock.

The case threatened to have a chilling effect on the ability of
educators to do what's necessary to maintain order and protect the
health and safety of students in their care.

The high court, in an 8-1 decision, said teachers and principals must
have flexibility to use reasonable searches to enforce school rules.

``I never questioned how I handled it,'' said Cadue, 48, who has been
working in the school system for 23 years.

``We have to be given that latitude to protect those other students.
And if we're not, we're in serious trouble.''

The Toronto District School Board believes a principal or delegate has
always had the right to search students if it is believed some harm
might come from an item a teen possesses, chair Gail Nyberg told The
Star's Jennifer Quinn yesterday.

``Where we believe there is a danger to students in school or to the
student in possession, if you're acting the way a parent would if they
were judicious - for example, would you search your son's dresser if
you thought he had a gun? - then, you're all right,'' Nyberg said.
``But you have to be careful you don't step on young people's rights.''

Eric Roher, an education specialist at the Toronto law firm of Borden
and Elliott, also said yesterday's decision will make little
difference in the way principals and teachers go about their business.

``(The Supreme Court) basically held that you may search a student
where you believe he may be carrying a prohibited weapon or he may be
in possession of a prohibited substance or an illicit substance,''
Roher said, explaining that a 1986 Ontario Court of Appeal decision
basically said the same thing.

The decision was welcomed by other school boards and advocacy groups,
who say school officials are often reluctant to exercise their
authority, fearing legal action or school board scrutiny.

The high court went a step further by defining some guides for a
reasonable search, such as having reasonable and probable grounds that
the student broke school rules, and that a search would prove the violation.

The court's decision means the teen, who was charged with possession,
must face trial.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry