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Miranda Warning and Students’ Rights at School.


            Students are subject to many restrictions that limit their movement while they are on school grounds. Mandatory
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            attendance laws require students to attend school;   they cannot leave when they want or roam the building at-will but
            must ask for permission to leave their classrooms or the building. When students receive orders by school officials, they
            are expected to comply or face disciplinary action.  However, Miranda warnings do not have to be given unless you are
            in custody. In the context of Miranda rights, custody has a narrow meaning: either you have been placed under formal

            arrest, or the circumstances are such that a reasonable person might think that they are under arrest, meaning they
            believe they are not free to leave. However, a teacher, acting on her own, does not have the authority to place an
            individual under arrest. This means that when a teacher questions you at school, without law enforcement present, she
            does not have to read you. Yet certain school officials, such as a school resource officer, they must read the Miranda

            rights to the child. This also means that if you are in the custody of a school resource officer, and the teacher asks you
            questions  in  front  of  them,  the  teacher  may  also  then  be  acting  as  an  agent  of  law  enforcement.

            Miranda warning violations are quite common during arrests of school children. Due to the nature of the juvenile law

            system, which 99% of the cases do not go to trial. The statements that were taken during the improper interrogation,
            are used against the child during plea negotiating, and the prosecution relies on a juvenile’s desire to plea out quickly.


            Searches of Children in School




            Students’ Fourth Amendment Right

            School officials are deemed to be government actors. They are required to act to protect student’s Fourth Amendment
            right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. This means that in order to search a student, the search must
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            be reasonable. In New Jersey vs. T.L.O., 469 U.S. 325 (1985),  the United States Supreme Court outlined the rules
            applying to school officials conducting searches of students’ bodies and personal effects.




            When Searches can happen


            Although the court held that school officials, as government agents, are subject to the Fourth Amendment, they do not
            have to obtain a warrant before conducting such searches. The court found that school officials do have to meet the




            60  https://law.emory.edu/elj/content/volume-62/issue-2/comments/granting-miranda-rights-to-students.html
            61   New Jersey v. T.L.O., 469 U.S. 325 (1985)
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