Majority opinion
In conclusion, the court ruled in favor of TLO with a 6-3 vote in 1985. The majority opinion, delivered by Justice White, stated that the school's search was reasonable and decided that in a school setting no warrant or probable cause is necessary because privacy expectations are lower when at school. Therefore, school officials do not apply the fourth amendment in the same way that a police officer would because they only need reasonable suspicion, not probable cause. The court justifies this by saying that school officials are acting in the same way that parents would parents are not bound by the fourth amendment, so school officials are an extension of the students' parents.
concurring opinion
Issued by Justice Powell, along with Justice O'Connor, the concurring opinion is in agreement with the ruling, but thought that students should not have the same protection that adults and juveniles in an out of school setting have.
Dissenting opinion
Issued by Justice Brennan, joined by Justice Marshall, the dissenting opinion was not in favor of search and seizure based on reasonable suspicion. Brennan and Marshall favored probable cause as a reason to search because it would require more proof than reasonable suspicion.