What is the significance of the case of Horton v. Goose Creek Independent School District?

The significance of this case is that it helped to
establish the idea that school officials have more leeway to search their students'
belongings than would be allowed if they were not in a school setting.  However, the
case also established that this right did not extend to the actual bodies of the
students.

This was a case about what use could be made of
drug-sniffing dogs at a school.  The Court held that the dogs could be used to sniff any
and all belongings without violating the students' constitutional rights.  This is much
more than would be allowed in a non-school setting.  The reasoning is that school
officials have a duty to protect their students and maintain a school atmosphere that is
conducive to learning.  The Court also ruled, however, that the dogs could not sniff the
students themselves because that would be both A) a search and B)
unreasonable.

So, the overall significance of the case is
that it helped to establish the idea that school officials have wide (but not unlimited)
latitude to conduct searches in a school setting.