Criticism of a school for the formulation of its code of conduct concerning body searches

Summary of the decision: A school had formulated its code of conduct in a manner that gave the impression that pupils and parents were expected to consent to, among other things, searches of bags and other items that pupils had with them, i.e., body searches. The Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman notes that schools are only permitted to conduct such searches and confiscate items that are found if the criteria described in Sections 5 and 7 of Chapter 6 a of the Swedish Education Act (SFS 2010:800) are fulfilled, and that it is not possible to waive constitutional protection against coercive measures such as body searches by giving consent. Even if it was not the school’s intention to obtain consent for the measures in question, the code of conduct could be construed in this way, hence the school cannot avoid criticism for its formulation.