Board of Education of Independent School District No. 92 of Pottawatomie County v. Earls
United States Supreme Court
536 U.S. 822 (2002)
The school district (defendant) required all students in extracurricular activities to undergo urine drug testing before participating, at random intervals thereafter, and any time there was reasonable suspicion; monitors watched from outside the stall, results stayed confidential and were never shared with police, and a positive result could bar a student from extracurriculars. Student Lindsay Earls, another student, and their parents (plaintiffs) sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, claiming the policy violated the Fourth Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Whether the Fourth Amendment permits a school to drug-test students who participate in extracurricular activities without a warrant or individualized suspicion.