Recent studies of school discipline (Skiba, Michael, Nardo, & Peterson, 2002; see also, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, n.d.) have called for greater scrutiny over treatment of students in varying demographic contexts. Minimal research, however, has grappled with the ethics of disciplinary practices using legal data. Utilizing information collected from Fourth Amendment case law since the landmark New Jersey v. T.L.O. decision (1985), this study examined the ethical dimensions of student searches through the ethical lenses of justice, caring, critique, and the profession. A multiple logistic regression was employed to gauge the impact of demographic factors on aspects relative to the search including the type of search (e.g., locker), number of search actions (e.g., the extensiveness of the search), and whether the evidence recovered in the search was reported to the police. Findings suggest the application of searches is strongly influenced by school size, school minority population, and poverty level, whereas the likelihood evidence recovered during a search is handed to police for criminal prosecution is greater in larger schools and schools situated in high minority communities. The findings together allude to ethical lapses among school personnel in the realms of caring, critique, and the profession. Implications for ethical leadership are addressed.
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