In its decisions New Jersey v. T.L.O. (1985) and Vernonia v. Acton (1995), the U.S. Supreme Court legitimated the actions and policies of school authorities. In doing so, it also defined and legitimated the following three roles of school authorities: agent-of-state, custodial, and tutelary. Hence, the role of school authorities and the nature of their relationship with students has become a vacillating one. This article explores the trichotomous roles cited in these U.S. Supreme Court decisions. It also examines that although school authorities claim, in their professional judgment, to be acting in the best interest of the students, they are reproducing and reinforcing the asymmetrical power relationships in schools and society. Finally, this article addresses ethical ramifications of, what those concerned with social justice designate as, the systemic violence that may be wrought by school authorities enacting their trichotomous roles.
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