The board of education is committed to ensuring an atmosphere on BOCES property and at BOCES functions that is safe and orderly. To achieve this kind of environment, any BOCES official authorized to impose a disciplinary penalty on a student may question a student about an alleged violation of law or the code of conduct. Students are not entitled to any sort of Miranda-type warning before being questioned by school officials, nor are school officials required to contact a student’s parent before questioning the student. However, BOCES officials will tell all students why they are being questioned.

In addition, the board authorizes the district superintendent, building administrator, the school nurse and BOCES security officials to conduct searches of students and their belongings if the authorized BOCES official has reasonable suspicion to believe that the search will result in evidence that the student violated the law or the code of conduct.

An authorized BOCES official may search a student or the student’s belongings based upon information received from a reliable informant. Individuals, other than the BOCES employees, will be considered reliable informants if they have previously supplied information that was accurate and verified, or they make an admission against their own interest, or they provide the same information that is received independently from other sources, or they appear to be credible and the information they are communicating relates to an immediate threat to safety. BOCES employees will be considered reliable informants unless they are known to have previously supplied information that they knew was not accurate.

Before searching a student or the student’s belongings, the authorized BOCES official should, if possible, ascertain whether the student is willing to admit to possession of physical evidence that they violated either the law or code of conduct, or whether they are willing to voluntarily consent to the search.

Whenever practicable, searches will be conducted in the privacy of administrative offices and students will be present when their possessions are being searched.

A. Student Lockers, Desks and Other School Storage Places

The rules in this code of conduct regarding searches of students and their belongings apply to student lockers, desks and other school storage places. Students have no reasonable expectation of privacy with respect to these places, and school officials retain complete control over them. This means that student lockers, desks and other BOCES storage places may be subject to search at any time by school officials, without prior notice to students and without their consent.

B. Documentation of Searches

The authorized BOCES official conducting the search shall be responsible for promptly recording the following information about each search on the BOCES form provided for that purpose:

1. Name, age and grade of student searched.
2. Reasons for the search.
3. Name of any informant(s).
4. Purpose of search (that is, what item(s) were being sought).
5. Type and scope of search.
6. Person conducting search and his/her title and position.
7. Witnesses, if any, to the search.
8. Time and location of search.
9. Results of search (that is, what items(s) were found).
10. Disposition of items found.
11. Time, manner and results of parental notification.

The building administrator/designee shall be responsible for the custody, control and disposition of any illegal or dangerous item taken from a student. The building administrator/designee shall clearly label each item taken from the student and retain control of the item(s) until the item is turned over to the police. The building administrator/designee shall be responsible for personally delivering dangerous or illegal item(s) to police authorities.

C. Police Involvement in Searches and Interrogations of Students

BOCES officials are committed to cooperating with police officials and other law enforcement authorities to maintain a safe school environment. Police officials, however, have limited authority to interview or search students in schools or at school functions, or to use school facilities in connection with police work. Police officials may enter school property or a school function to question or search a student or to conduct a formal investigation involving students only if they have:

1. A search or an arrest warrant; or
2. Probable cause to believe a crime has been committed on school property or at a school function; or
3. Been invited by school officials.

Before police officials are permitted to question or search any student, the building administrator/designee shall first try to notify the student’s parent to give the parent the opportunity to be present during the police questioning or search. The building administrator/designee will also be present during any police questioning or search of a student on school property or at a school function.

Students who are questioned by police officials on BOCES property or at a BOCES function will be afforded the same rights they have outside the school. This means:

1. They must be informed of their legal rights.
2. They may remain silent if they so desire.
3. They may request the presence of an attorney.

D. Child Protective Services Investigations

Consistent with the BOCES commitment to keep students safe from harm and the obligation of BOCES officials to report to child protective services when they have reasonable cause to suspect that a student has been abused or maltreated, the BOCES will cooperate with local child protective services workers who wish to conduct interviews of students on BOCES property relating to allegations of suspected child abuse, and/or neglect or custody investigations.

All requests by child protective services to interview a student on BOCES property shall be made directly to the building administrator/designee. The building administrator/designee shall set the time and place of the interview. The building administrator/designee shall decide if it is necessary and appropriate for a school official to be present during the interview, depending on the age of the student being interviewed and the nature of the allegations. If the nature of the allegations is such that it may be necessary for the student to remove any of his/her clothing in order for the child protective services worker to verify the allegations, the BOCES nurse or other BOCES medical personnel must be present during that portion of the interview. No student may be required to remove his/her clothing in front of a child protective services worker or school district official of the opposite sex.

A child protective services worker may not remove a student from BOCES property without a court order, unless the worker reasonably believes that the student would be subject to danger of abuse if he or she were not removed from BOCES before a court order can reasonably be obtained. If the worker believes the student would be subject to danger of abuse, the worker may remove the student without a court order and without the parent’s consent.

New Jersey v. T.L.O., 469 U.S. 325 (1985)
People v. Scott Dred, 34 N.Y.2d 483 (1974)
In Re Gregory, 82 N.Y.2d 588 (1993)
Tenenbaum v. Williams, 193 F.3d 581 (2d Cir. 1999)
People v. Overton, 20 N.Y.2d 360 (1969)
SED Opinion of Council, 1 Ed Dept Rep 800 (1959)