What was the ruling in New Jersey v. T.L.O. regarding student searches?

The ruling in New Jersey v. T.L.O. established that school officials can conduct searches of students as long as the searches are reasonable. The Supreme Court recognized that while students have some expectation of privacy, that privacy is balanced against the need to maintain a safe and conducive educational environment. The Court articulated a two-part test for determining the reasonableness of a search: first, the search must be justified at its inception, meaning that there must be reasonable grounds for suspecting that the search will uncover evidence of a violation of law or school rules; second, the search must be reasonably related in scope to the circumstances which justified the interference in the first place.

This ruling allows school administrators the authority to act quickly in situations that may arise, which might not allow for the time needed to obtain a warrant. Importantly, the decision underscores the idea that the educational context demands a different standard than that applied to searches conducted by law enforcement outside of a school setting. Thus, the ruling has significant implications on how students' rights are understood within educational institutions.