The Board of Education gathered late last week to authorize school administrators to work with police personnel to sweep lockers, storage areas, and common areas, including parking lots, at Newtown High School for evidence of illicit drugs using a drug-detecting dog. The prospect of letting a dog sniff around school property, however, raised enough privacy and Fourth Amendment search-and-seizure questions that a large group of parents with particular concerns about persistent problems of substance abuse in town turned out to counter such concerns and to support the school board. The anticipated opposition, however, never materialized.

Courts, including the US Supreme Court, have sanctioned warrantless searches in schools when there is a reasonable suspicion of illegal activity. They have given wide latitude to school administrators working in conjunction with law enforcement for providing safe and secure schools. It is the same latitude we accord to comprehensive warrantless security searches at airports, courthouses, and other venues we collectively value as a society.

The Board of Education’s current policy on search and seizure on school property acknowledges a fundamental right to privacy: “The exercise of the right to inspect also requires protection of each student’s personal privacy and protection from coercion.” The policy sets conditions for searches that require a “reasonable suspicion” that a student’s desk, or locker, or car, contains weapons, or contraband, or illegal substances. Establishing that reasonable suspicion, obviously, requires evidence that is seen, heard, or even smelled by authorities. To be absolutely sure of our suspicions, it makes sense to rely on those with the keenest sight, hearing, and sense of smell to fairly establish that reasonable suspicion for a subsequent search. Newtown’s police dog, Baro, is an ideal candidate for the job.

Wanton invasion of privacy, illegal searches, and disregard for our constitutional Fourth Amendment rights reflects a lack of respect of citizens by authorities. Whatever adjustments the school board must make to its policies to accommodate this cooperative initiative with the local police, the board, and the community as a whole, need to reaffirm our respect for students as fully enfranchised citizens deserving of all the rights and opportunities of our free society. Doing everything we can to give them drug-free schools is a sure sign of that respect.