court cases

In the case of Safford v Redding, the issue was that Arizona school officials went too far in a strip search on a 13 year old girl for ibuprofen. The case was ruled against Safford, eight members of the court found that the search was unreasonable for the low threat posed. This case explains how far some school officials can go, and how wrong it is. Anyone would agree that strip searching a 13 year old girl for ibuprofen is wrong, but what if it had been something more dangerous? What if the girl had marijuana or heroin? Then would a strip search be necessary?
In Tecumseh, Oklahoma a School District put in a policy stating that all students participating in school-related activities were to go through random drug testing held by school officials at any time while participating in these activities. In this policy the school officials can test the students with no suspicion at all, at anytime during the school day or whilst the activities are taking place. The policy was challenged because it was said that it violated the Fourth Amendment. In a 5-4 decision the United States Supreme Court disagreed, explaining the policy as “a reasonable means of furthering the School District’s important interest in preventing and deterring drug use among its students.” The Court concluded that the school District had provided enough sufficient evidence of drug use by their students that were involved in extracurricular activities. It also concluded that taking urinary samples were also not overly intrusive to the student’s privacy. Should schools be able to test if their students are taking drugs? How much evidence does a school need to be able to do this? how can we judge when these approaches are appropriate?