Hamptons School Board Bringing Drug Dogs Into High School, Voted on Unanimously to “Thunderous Applause”

The school board in East Hampton, New York
says it didn’t hear any complaints it took in the three weeks to
get from an idea by a parent concerned about drugs at the local
high school to the school board voting unanimously to bring drug
dogs into the building.
Via the East Hampton Star:

A packed house of parents sat close together, speaking
as one in favor of the proposal.

“I speak in support of this policy, as a taxpayer and parent of a
young child in the district,” said Jeff Erickson. “I applaud the
board. We all know that we have an epidemic on Long Island with
oxycodone and prescription-drug use. It starts with alcohol and
marijuana. If we have children using our facility to sell drugs or
use drugs, let’s get rid of them. Let’s get them out, because
they’re poisoning our children.”

Mr. Erickson continued: “I’m pretty conservative on this. I have no
problem with them sniffing our children.”

Thunderous applause followed his remarks.

“We have not heard one word against — not one,” said Patricia Hope,
the board president, yesterday morning.

One parent suggested the dogs do the cars in the parking lot,
too. No word on what the teachers union might say about that. The
principal of the high school says the building would go on
“modified lockdown” during surprise visits by the county sheriff’s
K-9 unit, and local police would be called if drugs were found.

Read Jacob Sullum’s March Reason piece on how police use drug
dogs to manufacuter probable cause
here. Schools need only “reasonable suspicion” to conduct
searches, the Supreme Court explained in a 2009 decision about a
middle school girl strip searched over an Advil, which you can read
Sullum on here.