There are fears a law change governing how teachers can search students for items such as drugs and weapons will create a potential minefield for schools.
Changes to the Education Act come into force on January 1 and will change the rules around searching students but there is no provision for allowing for a search for stolen property.
The Ministry of Education is working with teacher groups and experienced principals to prepare guidelines so boards, principals, teachers, and staff members can understand what their powers and obligations are.
But New Zealand Principals' Federation president Philip Harding said the law change would unintentionally create potential problems for schools and he gave an example.
"If an item has gone missing in a classroom, say a chisel from a technology class, and the loss is suddenly spotted at the end of a lesson, we can't say to the group of students 'show me what's in your bag'.