Opinion No. (2000)

BILL LOCKYER Attorney General ANTHONY S. DA VIGO Deputy Attorney General THE HONORABLE CATHIE WRIGHT, MEMBER OF THE STATE SENATE, has requested an opinion on the following question: May school administrators at a public high school implement a policy requiring on an unannounced, random, and neutral basis that (1) pupils be directed to vacate their classrooms and leave behind their personal belongings, including backpacks, purses, jackets, and outer garments, for sniffing by canines trained in the detection of drugs, (2) the pupils would proceed to a location not within the immediate vicinity of the canines and would remain away from the canines at all times, and (3) if a canine's behavior indicated the presence of drugs, the pupil's personal belongings would be searched by the school administrators without the pupil's consent? CONCLUSION School administrators at a public high school may not implement a policy requiring on an unannounced, random, and neutral basis that (1) pupils be directed to vacate their classrooms and leave behind their personal belongings, including backpacks, purses, jackets, and outer garments, for sniffing by canines trained in the detection of drugs, (2)…