Procedure 3232 - Inspection of Assigned Student Storage Area

Lockers and desks are the property of the school district. When assigned a locker and desk, a student shall be responsible for its proper care. A student may be subject to a fine for any willful damage to school property. Students are encouraged to keep their assigned lockers closed and locked. 

General inspection of lockers/desks may be made with prior notice given to students for the purpose of collecting misplaced library and textbooks and other school property. 

The school reserves the right to inspect individual lockers/desks without advance notice. When appropriate, before opening a student’s locker/desk the principal shall seek the consent of the student to conduct an inspection. If the student is not available, cannot be contacted, or does not consent to the inspection, the principal may conduct the search without his/her presence. A third party shall always be present to witness such inspections. When the search is prompted by a reasonable suspicion that the contents of a locker/desk create an emergency, in order to protect the students, staff and property of the school, the principal may properly conduct a search and open the locker/desk as soon as it is necessary. Unless circumstances require it, the school official conducting a desk or locker search will not open personal items such as a purse or wallet which is contained within a locker or student desk. 

Whenever disciplinary action is taken as a result of a locker/desk inspection, the principal shall be responsible for completing a written report which describes the purpose of the inspection, witnesses present, objects found during the inspection, inventory of and receipt for items seized and a report of such items and their disposition. 

Adoption: