This paper examines the practice of search and seizure from a legal perspective. All issues concerning lawful or unlawful search and seizure, whether in a public school or otherwise, are predicated upon the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The terms "search,""seizure,""probable cause,""reasonable suspicion," and "exclusionary rule" are defined and provide a necessary vocabulary in this analysis. Examples are used to give concrete meaning to various practices, such as strip searches, drug searches by urine tests, and weapons searches. These particular search scenarios, which can take place in a school setting, spawn the most litigation. Court decisions have helped to provide precise definitions and statements allowing fair adjudication of cases. Such statements establish guidelines in cases where students' legitimate expectations of privacy and personal security are to be respected, should school officials act on perceived (and, perhaps, unsubstantiated) problems involving drugs or violence. Sometimes, however, in weapons searches, the immediacy of a school board's actions for student and school personnel safety is well justified. (RT)