Student Rights at School and College.
Your rights at school and college, explained simply: backpack and phone searches, student free speech, walkouts and the pledge, dress codes, drug testing, and FERPA and your education records. What schools can actually do — and where your rights hold the line.
Can schools search your backpack?
Schools don’t need a warrant — but they do need to pass a two-part test. What counts as “reasonable,” and where searches cross the line.
Read the answer →Can schools search your phone?
Taking your phone and searching it are two different things. What a school needs before it scrolls, and what to say when asked to unlock it.
Read the answer →Can a teacher take your phone?
A teacher can take your phone for breaking the school’s phone policy. How long they keep it, and how you get it back, depends on your district.
Read the answer →Can your school punish you for what you post outside school?
Usually not for off-campus opinions, after the Supreme Court’s 2021 Snapchat ruling. Where the protection ends: threats, harassment, and real disruption.
Read the answer →What is FERPA, and who can see your grades?
FERPA is the federal law that keeps your school records private. See who can view your grades and what changes at 18 or in college.
Read the answer →Can your school punish you for a walkout?
A public school can treat a walkout as an unexcused absence, but it cannot punish your message. See which states excuse a civic day.
Read the answer →Do you have to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance?
Public schools cannot make you say the pledge or stand for it. Learn the limits, your state’s parent-note rules, and what to say.
Read the answer →Can schools enforce a dress code?
Schools can enforce dress codes and uniforms, within limits. See the rules on message shirts, hair, and religious dress, plus what to do if you are dress-coded.
Read the answer →Can schools drug test students?
Public schools can randomly test students in sports and activities, and test one student on reasonable suspicion. See the limits and what to ask.
Read the answer →Have a question about school & your rights?
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