Searches & confiscations What is a search? Are teachers allowed to search me and what process must they follow? Can teachers touch me when they’re searching me? What rules do teachers need to follow when searching me? My parents have agreed with my school that I can be searched – is this allowed? Can teachers search my locker? I’ve signed a contract allowing the school to search me, can they search me at any time? Can I be searched before a school ball or school function? Is my teacher allowed to search the whole class? Is my school allowed to use a sniffer dog to search me? What is a confiscation? Is my teacher allowed to take my possessions? What responsibilities does the school have when they confiscate my property? Can I get my confiscated item back? Are teachers allowed to take my jewellery? A teacher has taken something belonging to me and will not give it back, what can I do? Are teachers allowed to take my phone or electronic device? Are they allowed to go through my messages or emails?
A search is when someone goes through your bag or your possessions looking for something, or looks for items on your body or in your clothes. You are also being searched if someone looks at information you have stored electronically, such as on your phone or laptop. You are not being searched if someone simply looks at you and sees, for example, that you are carrying a knife.
Legally, there are certain circumstances where searches and confiscations are allowed at schools. The law also says that everyone is protected from unreasonable searches by the government, which includes by schools and teachers.
Legally, teachers and authorised staff have powers to search students’ outer clothing, and their electronic devices and bags, if they reasonably believe that the student has:
If the item is digital, the teacher or authorised staff member can require the student to reveal the item, and to surrender the electronic device on which the item is stored. Also, anyone is also allowed to search you if you agree.
The correct process involves:
1) Asking for the item or device to be handed over;
2) If you don’t consent to handing it over, you may be searched;
3) If you don’t consent to the search, the school may call the police to conduct a search (for example, for dangerous or illegal items), or take disciplinary action.
Teachers are not allowed to touch a student’s body, or ask them to remove clothing that would reveal their underwear or skin, but can ask them to remove any outer clothing. Teachers also cannot use any physical force against students unless it is necessary to defend someone (including the student or themselves) from immediate danger.
A teacher also cannot force a student to give any kind of bodily sample, such as a blood, urine, or saliva sample.
Rules around school searches include:
The teacher or staff member cannot force a student to give bodily samples like urine, blood or saliva.
The law isn’t clear on this. The law says that a student’s parents can make decisions for them until they turn 18 or you get married, are in a de facto relationship, or have a civil union. However, the law also says that the person being searched should give their permission first, and a young person who is old and mature enough to make their own decisions should be doing this themselves. Therefore, most of the time it will depend on the situation and the urgency.
You can contact us for free if you want more information.
If the criteria for searching a student have been met, teachers are allowed to search their locker. Also, a locker (as well as a desk or other storage space) provided for students to store their possessions within school grounds are usually considered to be the school’s property. This means that schools might be able to search student’s lockers, desks, etc. However, best practice would be for schools to give students a copy of the terms and conditions for using their lockers. These terms and conditions should mention the fact that the school can search the locker, and any bag or container inside the locker, if the school intends to do that.
If you have signed a contract allowing your school to search you or your locker (this is usually given as a disciplinary condition or as a condition for returning to school from a suspension), the school’s staff can do the search. However, a contract is not valid if the school forced you to sign it.
If you go to an integrated school or a private school, it is possible that they have different rules around searches, but those rules should not breach students’ right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure under the Bill of Rights Act.
If a school ball or function is not part of the normal curriculum (for instance, it is optional for students to attend), the school can set rules and conditions for the function that are different to the ordinary school rules. If the school says that students can only go to the school ball if they agree to be searched beforehand, this is legal if going to the school ball is not compulsory. Best practice would be for the school to inform students of the terms and conditions of entry at the time they purchase tickets.
If the function is compulsory, the normal rules of searches apply — the school usually needs students’ agreement to be searched, unless they meet the required search criteria.
Teachers and school staff cannot randomly search students, or search an entire class because they think one person in the class might have a dangerous or harmful item. Instead, school staff must have good reason to search a particular student. ‘Good reason’ cannot just be because of things that have happened in the past or based on stereotypes about a student.
The only time a teacher can legally search a whole class is if they reasonably believe that every person being searched has a dangerous or harmful item.
Schools are not allowed to use a sniffer dog to search students’ private property or students personally, but they are allowed to use sniffer dogs to search school property. If the school chooses to use dogs, they must hire a private company to bring in a dog to search through school property (which can include lockers, desks and anything else chosen by the school).
Usually, schools will use dogs to sniff for drugs or other illegal substances. The police can also be called in to do a search, which will be legal if the police have a reasonable suspicion that an individual has drugs or have a search warrant signed by a judge. If the police have neither, the search will be illegal.
A confiscation is when a teacher or school takes something belonging to a student for any amount of time, including permanently.
There are certain circumstances where a school can legally confiscate students’ property. Also, the law says that everyone is protected from having their possessions unreasonably taken from them by the government, which includes public schools and their staff. So, schools should only take students’ property in the circumstances mentioned, and should be reasonable when doing so.
If you attend a private school, the rules about searching and confiscating may be different.
Your teacher or school staff are only allowed to take items which are likely to be dangerous, or likely to negatively impact the learning environment for you or other students. However, they cannot use physical force to take items from you unless there is an immediate threat to someone’s safety.
If you refuse to hand over the item(s), the school could require you to remove outer clothing or hand over your bag, or take disciplinary action against you.
After confiscating an item, a school should consider people’s health and safety, the apparent value of the item, and the person believed to be entitled to the possession of the item.
If the teacher or school staff decides to keep the item, they must take reasonable care of it. If the item is kept overnight or longer, it must be held in secure storage.
If you have had something illegal (like drugs or weapons) confiscated, you probably will not get them back — they will probably end up with the police. If the item is illegal for you to have because of your age, but would not be illegal for an adult to have (such as alcohol), the school should return it to your parent(s) or caregiver(s). If the item belonged to someone else, they might return it to the item’s owner. In all other situations, your school has to return your confiscated item(s) to you as soon as is practical, which will usually be no later than the end of the school day. Keeping an item should not be used as a form of punishment.
Sometimes schools might have policies which, for example, require a parent/caregiver to pick up the item after repeat offences — this is legal.
Many schools have a no jewellery rule. Some schools will ask you to remove the item, while others will ask you to hand it over. However, legally, jewellery items can only be confiscated when they meet the criteria. For jewellery items that are not likely to be dangerous or negatively impact the learning environment, it could be difficult for school staff to claim that confiscation is legal. However, the school might take other disciplinary measures.
If your jewellery has a religious or cultural meaning to you, your school is not allowed to stop you from wearing it (unless it could affect your or other people’s safety, such as wearing a large taonga in P.E.) You must have a genuine religious or cultural connection to the item for example, you are Māori and want to wear a taonga, or you are Christian and want to wear a crucifix. If jewellery is banned at school, it might make things easier if you speak with your school about the item before wearing it at school.
Other rules may apply to private schools.
Having an item confiscated does not change the fact that you are its owner (if you did own it), and you have the right to have it returned to you. However, there are times where the item(s) might be returned to your parent(s) or caregiver(s) instead. If the item is illegal, it might be handed over to the police.
If a teacher or school staff member confiscates and keeps something of yours that you can legally have, that teacher has to take reasonable care of it until it is given back to you or your parent(s)/caregiver(s). If the teacher or staff member loses or damages your property, they usually have to pay the cost of repairing or replacing it.
School have the power to confiscate students’ electronic devices if they are disruptive or negatively impact the learning environment. Now that phones have been banned during school hours except for a limited number of purposes, it is likely that there will be a low bar to find that students’ phones have negatively impacted the learning environment. However, school staff should not search through students’ devices just because they were disruptive or negatively impacted the learning environment — schools need good reasons to search through students’ devices. Some reasons to search devices could be:
If you are uncertain whether your school has followed the right process, contact us.