Introduction
In an effort to keep drugs and weapons out of your school, the school board is considering the use of drug sniffing dogs on campus. They are considering using them to search lockers, cars in the parking lot, classrooms, and students' backpacks and other belongings. They are, however, unsure how effective they will be and are concerned about legal issues. Other school districts have used them with mixed results. They have assembled a committee to research the dogs before coming to a final decision.
Task
You have been selected as part of the committee. You and the rest of the committee will research the drug sniffing dogs. You must find out what they specifically search for, how accurate they are, what the courts have to say about them, and what community reaction is likely to be. You will work with other members of your committee to create a Power Point presentation to the board (your teacher) advising them whether or not a Drug-Dog policy should be implemented. You should refer to the Evaluation below to find out how you will be graded.
Process
You and the three other members of the committee must decide amongst yourselves who is going to research each aspect. The aspects to research are:
The
Court
Accuracy of the Dogs
Detection Canine Companies
After each member of the group has a role, scroll down to yours to receive further instructions.
The ACLU
ACLU stands for American Civil Liberties
Your
Research Links:
ACLU of Pennsylvania
ACLU-NC Letter In
Opposition to Use of Dogs in Drug Searches on School Campuses
South
Dakota School Officials Terrorized Kindergarten Classes with Drug-Sniffing
Dogs, ACLU Charges
ACLU Press Release
ACLU
questions aspects of drug search in schools
Lordsburg School
District Agrees to Cease Searches of Students by Drug Sniffing Dogs
Court and Public Opinion
The use of Drug-Sniffing Dogs in schools is quite controversial. Some people believe that their use is unconstitutional. As a result, many lawsuits been filed on the issue. Your job is to find out what the courts have said so far. How have they ruled? In what circumstances can dogs be used? Have the courts set any limitations on their use? You will also research public opinion. To do this you will read comments on a public online forum regarding drug-sniffing dogs. Summarize the types of opinions so you can present them to the committee.
Your
Research Links:
15-year-old pro-se
achieves Superior Court dismissal
Drug Dog's "Alert" to
Cash Not Grounds for Forfeiture
NARCOTIC CANINE LEGAL UPDATE AND
OPINIONS
Opinion Forum on
Drug Sniffing Dogs
CASE LAW ON DOGS RELIABILITY/TRAINING
Accuracy of the Dogs
Your Job is to determine how accurate drug-sniffing dogs may or may not be. Some of the sources may conflict others. Make sure you include this in your presentation. Also, you should find out what the Courts have rule in regards to drug-dog accuracy.
Your
Research Links:
Lady
takes bite out of drug crimes in Dade County
Accuracy of drug dogs is challenged
Police
Dog Makes Too Many Bad Collars
Galt High Search Results
CASE LAW ON DOGS
RELIABILITY/TRAINING
Drug Canine Companies
You will research how prevalent the use of drug dogs is. Are more schools using them or less? What parts of the country are using them? You will also research the companies themselves. What services do they offer for schools? What do their dogs alert on? Do they make accuracy statements about their dogs?
Your
Research Links:
More Schools Using Dogs to
Sniff Out Drugs
Carlsbad
trustees OK drug dog program
Kontraband
Interdiction & Detection Services Inc:
Interquest
Detection K9's
RAID Corps (Drug Detection
Canines)
Evaluation
You will be evaluated on your Power Point presentation to the school board both as a group and individually. Use the Rubric below to guide your presentation development.
|
|
Beginning |
Developing |
Accomplished |
Exemplary |
Score |
|
Individual |
Missing all of the important facts Not coherent Lack of effort and creativity |
Missing some of the important facts Somewhat coherent Shows some effort and creativity |
Contains most of the important facts Coherent Shows substantial effort and creativity |
Contains all of the important facts with analysis Very coherent and thought out Substantial effort and creativity |
|
|
Group Presentation |
Not coherent Lack of effort and creativity performance |
Missing some of the important facts Somewhat coherent Shows some effort and creativity |
Contains most of the important facts Coherent Shows substantial effort and creativity |
Very coherent and thought out Substantial effort and creativity. |
|
Conclusion
Now that you know everything there is to know about drug-sniffing dogs and their use in schools, what is your opinion of them? Would you like them at your school? Do you think they violate the Constitution? Do they violate the Constitution in all cases, or only when used in a particular way?
This
site was created and is maintained by
Jacob Reed
Please contact me with suggestions or comments