Vernonia School District v. Acton (47J)

Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s drug use, violence, and disciplinary problems in the nation's schools captured public attention as never before. During this period schools began routine searches of students for weapons, and confiscated a surprising array of firepower in this manner. Although some analysts reported that drug use among students had fallen from its high in the mid-to-late 1970s, public opinion equated increases in disciplinary problems in the schools with student use of illegal drugs.

The Vernonia, Oregon, school system operated three elementary schools and one high school in the late 1980s. As is the case in many small towns, high school athletes in Vernonia enjoyed elevated social status and served as role models for their fellow students. Beginning in 1988, however, Vernonia school authorities began to notice a disturbing trend among their students. Many students, and particularly student athletes, were heard to discuss and seen to emulate the outward trappings of the "drug culture," and between 1988 and 1989 disciplinary referrals within the schools increased to twice the level seen in the early 1980s. Vernonia's athletic coaches also began to suspect that use of illegal drugs was impairing the performance of their athletes, and had been responsible for several serious injuries.