What you can do

• If you are stopped by the police, make sure to not panic and just relax

• Just remain silent

• You have the right to refuse to allow the police to search you. 

• This may not prevent the search, but it is the best approach to preserve your rights in the event that you end up in court.

What not to do

• If an officer is detaining you, do not resist, fight, or flee. Declare your want to remain silent and request an attorney as soon as possible. 

• Without the presence of a lawyer, don't say anything, sign anything, or make any decisions. 

• Consent to a phone search is not required; police must have a warrant to check your phone.

• A strip search is the same way. You cannot be strip-searched by a police officer or a school staff.

First Amendment Rights at School

• You have the right to speak out, distribute fliers and petitions, and wear expressive clothes at school as long as you don't disrupt the school's operation or break any school policies that aren't related to the message you're expressing. 

• What constitutes "disruptive" will vary depending on the situation, but simply because your school disagrees with your viewpoint or believes your speech is provocative or in "poor taste" is insufficient to qualify. 

• Students' rights to wear anti-war armbands, armbands opposing abortion rights, and shirts supporting the LGBTQ community have all been supported by courts.

• Dress codes, for example, can have standards that have nothing to do with the message being conveyed. So, while a school can forbid you from wearing hats because the rule isn't based on what the hats say, it can't forbid you from wearing only pro-NRA caps. 

• You have the same rights to demonstrate and speak out outside of school as everyone else. This means that organizing, protesting, and advocating for your ideas outside of school hours is more likely to safeguard you.