Is drug-testing of students a violation of the Fourth Amendment as it applies to students in a private school€”based on whether the private school is...

Yes, I
believe it is a violation of the Fourth Amendment in that situation. This is, obviously, a very
tricky situation to analyze due to the complexity of the case, but there are a few facts that
can't be ignored.

Typically, a private school has a bit of flexibility to
mandate what occurs inside its walls, and drug testing would probably be completely acceptable
in that situation. Many schools, public and private, make it quite clear that they have
jurisdiction to search lockers and other on school items to ensure that school rules are being
followed. Unfortunately, if the school is a state actor, there are more complex details that
need to be addressed.

A state actor is an entity that acts on behalf of the
government, and therefore must adhere to the First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments so as not to
infringe upon civil liberties.

When a school is acting on behalf of the
government, performing an action like unauthorized drug testing can be a serious violation of
the Fourth Amendment, which would overstep its bounds in regards to civil liberties (the right
to avoid unauthorized search and seizure). Regardless of what prompted the potential drug
testing, it is a violation of the Constitution.