If you are a parent in Florida, then you probably have been notified that your child’s school has undergone a drug search by local law enforcement. Such searches are conducted often in school around the country as a way to keep drugs out of schools. However, you may wonder just how legal these searches are.
According to The Patriot Ledger, drug searches in schools are completely legal. The bigger issue, though, is that some searches are conducted without alerting parents. In this day and age where school shootings are becoming prevalent, seeing law enforcement at a school can cause alarm.
If your child sends you a text from school saying law enforcement is there, you may get worried. This is especially true if the school has not alerted you. It can sometimes take hours for the school to announce there is a drug search. In the meantime, you may be worried and upset. It can also be upsetting to your child until he or she discovers what is really going on.
Still, unannounced searches are very common. Schools do not have to tell you they are conducting one. In schools where searches occur often, students know what is happening once a search begins and are less likely to get upset over it. However, in a district where these searches do not happen very often, it can be a source of stress. Schools feel that the short-term upset over a search is outweighed by the positive it does in helping to stop kids from using drugs or at least bringing them to school. This information is for education and is not legal advice.
