Student Seizure Research Paper

Courts have examined claims that detentions of students by school officials constitute an unlawful seizure. A seizure occurs when individuals feel they are not free to leave, such as when students are detained by school administrators for questioning. The Tenth Circuit, however, noted: “To qualify as a seizure in the school context, the limitation on the student’s freedom of movement must significantly exceed that inherent in every-day, compulsory attendance.”
As in the cases involving searches, courts examine school officials’ actions to determine if a seizure or detainment of a student is reasonable—that is, justified at its inception and not excessively intrusive in light of the student’s age and sex and the specific infraction. The Third Circuit found the “seizure” of a student for approximately four hours while school officials investigated a claim of sexual …show more content…
Similarly, a federal district court found that a New Hampshire school district’s removal of students from their classrooms to the football field for ninety minutes while multiple police dogs sniffed the classrooms did not constitute a seizure.
A teacher’s momentary physical restraint of students has typically not been considered a “seizure” under the Fourth Amendment. Citing the special nature of the school environment, courts have ruled that physical restraint in disciplinary situations in the school environment does not involve the deprivation of liberty the Fourth Amendment prohibits. Thus, a teacher who physically grabs a student by the shoulders and escorts him out of the classroom would not violate the student’s Fourth Amendment right to be free from an unreasonable