Can they punish my kid for refusing a search?

So, my son was searched at school, and they found nothing. Then, the next day, they got an anonymous tip saying he had drugs. They checked his bag again—still nothing. When they asked to search him physically, he said no, and now they’re saying they have to ‘assume’ he has drugs and are disciplining him for it. The school handbook doesn’t say anything about punishing refusal. Can they really do that??

This doesn’t sound right at all. If they didn’t find anything, how can they just assume he has drugs? :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

Val said:
This doesn’t sound right at all. If they didn’t find anything, how can they just assume he has drugs? :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

Totally! It feels like they’re punishing him just for saying no. That’s kinda messed up.

@Jamie
Yeah, it’s like they don’t respect his rights. I’d definitely push back on this if I were you.

I’d double-check the school’s policies. Sometimes they bury stuff like this in the details. But it still seems super unfair.

Wei said:
I’d double-check the school’s policies. Sometimes they bury stuff like this in the details. But it still seems super unfair.

I already went through the policies—nothing about refusing a search. Only mentions refusing a urine test. So this doesn’t seem right at all.

It sounds like the school is way out of line here. If he’s refusing the search, that’s his right, especially if nothing was found. They can’t just assume.

Whit said:
It sounds like the school is way out of line here. If he’s refusing the search, that’s his right, especially if nothing was found. They can’t just assume.

Exactly, it feels like they’re assuming guilt without proof. They shouldn’t punish him like that.

Has your son been able to explain why he refused the search? That might be important too.

Reagan said:
Has your son been able to explain why he refused the search? That might be important too.

He just thought it was unfair since they pulled him out of class two days in a row for a search. So, he decided to refuse this time.

You should definitely look into legal help, especially since he has a 504 plan. I bet they’re not following it properly.

Zane said:
You should definitely look into legal help, especially since he has a 504 plan. I bet they’re not following it properly.

I’m starting to think the same. His 504 plan is supposed to help him in situations like this, but they didn’t even give him time to calm down.

@Tavi
That’s a huge issue. If they’re ignoring his plan, they’re not following the law. Definitely need to address that.