(a) When individual circumstances in a school dictate, a principal may order that vehicles parked on school property by students or visitors, containers, packages, lockers or other enclosures used for storage by students or visitors, and other areas accessible to students or visitors be searched in the principal’s presence or in the presence of other members of the principal’s staff.

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 49-6-4204

  • Drug: means any controlled substance, controlled substance analogue, marijuana, alcohol, legend drug or any other substance the possession or use of which is regulated in any manner by any governmental authority, including the school system. See Tennessee Code 49-6-4202
  • Drug paraphernalia: means all equipment, products and materials of any kind that are used, intended for use or designed for use in planting, propagating, cultivating, growing, harvesting, manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing, processing, preparing, testing, analyzing, packaging, repackaging, storing, containing, concealing, injecting, ingesting, inhaling or otherwise introducing into the human body a drug, as defined in subdivision (2). See Tennessee Code 49-6-4202
  • principal: means the administrative head of a public school, by whatever title the person may be known. See Tennessee Code 49-6-4202
  • Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • School: means all public schools that conduct classes in any grade from kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12). See Tennessee Code 49-6-4202
  • Student: means any person, regardless of age, enrolled in the public school. See Tennessee Code 49-6-4202
(b) Individual circumstances requiring a search may include incidents on school property, including school buses, involving, but not limited to, the use of dangerous weapons, drugs or drug paraphernalia by students that are known to the principal or other staff members, information received from law enforcement, juvenile or other authorities indicating a pattern of drug dealing or drug use by students of that school, any assault or attempted assault on school property with dangerous weapons or any other actions or incidents known by the principal that give rise to reasonable suspicion that dangerous weapons, drugs or drug paraphernalia are held on school property by one (1) or more students.
(c) A notice shall be posted in the school that lockers and other storage areas, containers, and packages brought into the school by students or visitors are subject to search for drugs, drug paraphernalia, dangerous weapons or any property that is not properly in the possession of the student.
(d) A notice shall be posted where it is visible from the school parking lot that vehicles parked on school property by students or visitors are subject to search for drugs, drug paraphernalia or dangerous weapons.
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