Police Get OK to Question Students

Acting on the advice of its attorney, the Moorpark school board has abandoned a plan to notify students of their constitutional rights before allowing sheriff’s deputies to question them on campus.

The school board late Tuesday decided against including the provision in an updated policy on student questioning and apprehension, said Tom Baldwin, one of two board members who had strongly advocated requiring school administrators to fully inform students of their rights.

“I still feel the same,” Baldwin said Wednesday. “I have the police and I have the attorney telling me that, regardless of my feelings, that’s not the way the law is. So I guess my hands are tied.” The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department had strongly objected to the proposal, saying administrators who carried out any such a policy could be arrested for interfering with a police investigation.

Sheriff’s Lt. Geoff Dean, who supervises Moorpark enforcement, said he was pleased the board had backed away from a policy that could have caused a conflict between officers and administrators.

“I hope this will help to continue to promote the good relationship that the Sheriff’s Department and the school administrators now have,” Dean said.

Board President Sam Nainoa said he was happy the board agreed to follow legal advice.

“They finally had to get it in the form of a legal opinion from our attorney that probably cost us a few hundred dollars,” Nainoa said. “And then everybody fell into line and said, ‘Oh, we can’t do this, it’s against the law.’ ”