Shreya Reddy ’13, Anthony Thai’ 13 Students of Conestoga High School were surprised to find themselves involved in a preemptive lockdown and drug search conducted by police and drug-sniffing dogs on April 20th. While the need to provide a safe drug-free environment is understandable, measures of such a drastic nature should not be allowed, as they violate students’ rights to privacy and create a fearful, unhealthy atmosphere for learning.
According to Tredyffrin/Easttown school district, the 45 minute search of over 600 backpacks and lockers did not lead to the discovery of any illegal substances. The Conestoga High School Student Handbook (2011-2012) states, “Under ordinary circumstances, a search will be justified where there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that the search will turn up evidence that the student has violated or is violating either the law or the rules of the District.” The only instance when a search can occur without reasonable suspicion is at a school dance or prom. Furthermore, Conestoga reserves the right to search student lockers, as they are property of the district.
In conducting this search, Conestoga clearly infringed on the rights of its students. They were not only defying school and district laws but national laws as well. In the 1995 case New Jersey v. T.L.O., the Supreme Court ruled that the fourth amendment ban on “unreasonable searches and seizures” includes searches at schools, asserting that the needs of both the students and the administration must be equally considered. In this case, the school had no evidence that their safe environment was being compromised. The search only exacerbated the divide between administrators and students which jeopardizes the community’s future safety.
Unjustifiable searches only create an atmosphere of mistrust. On April 20, Conestoga High School officials specifically targeted their students, looking to get them in severe legal trouble. No student was caught with any illegal substances, which attests to the ineffective nature of such searches. The only result of this supposed “drug-bust” is the wave of fear that now engulfs the school. These searches alienate students who do have addictions to drugs or other illegal substances. These students no longer feel safe addressing a teacher about their problems. They now fear that teachers are not looking to help them, but only to punish them or turn them into the same police officers they called in to search their lockers. Instead of fixing the problem, preemptive lockdowns and searches only create an extremely unhealthy academic environment, leading students to fear discussing dangerous issues involving addiction and recreational drug use in an institution that is “out to get them.”
Public schools do not need to revert to drastic measures in order to maintain a drug-free environment. Instead, schools should work to foster positive relationships with their students, fostering open conversations. By maintaining this environment of comfort and support, public schools can work with their students to reach their highest potential without fear of faltering.

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