Can a security guard from high school search a teen?

Answer 1

I am not an attorney but I am familiar with HIPAA and general ethical practice in social service agencies. There MUST be careful and explicit written guidelines and proceduresat your school that cover such things, along with appropriate training. If there aren't, it is a MONUMENTAL failure on someone's part. Some education departments might allow some kinds of searching under certain circumstances, but this would be different from state to state, or from county to county, or from school department to school department. If you are questioning something that has happened, start doing some research and get your hands on the written guidelines, laws and/or procedures that cover your jurisdiction. Usually, lower level laws or procedures are trumped by higher level laws covering the same action. In other words, if an individual school district allows a certain thing but state law or federal law forbid it, then the school district's rule is nullified by the higher law.

If a search took place within all the laws and guidelines, then it was done in the service of safety for all, and the embarrassment and discomfort suffered are part of what is sometimes necessary for the common good. If the search was NOT appropriate, then the people involved need to be held accountable, again, for the common good.

To muddy the waters a little bit, in situations where there is some question about exactly what a given action is, or what law actually takes precedence, the courts are often the only way for the question to be settled. That's not a bad thing; it is part of the way the system works.