Bill Text: FL S1472 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Video Cameras in Public School Classrooms
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2024-03-08 - Died in Education Pre-K -12 [S1472 Detail]
Download: Florida-2024-S1472-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1472
By Senator Grall
29-01458-24 20241472__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to video cameras in public school
3 classrooms; creating s. 1003.5741, F.S.; providing
4 definitions; requiring that a video camera be placed
5 in certain public school classrooms, including certain
6 charter school classrooms; providing requirements for
7 such video cameras; requiring a written explanation if
8 the operation of such cameras is interrupted;
9 requiring that such explanation be maintained for a
10 specified time period; requiring a school or charter
11 school to provide certain persons with written notice
12 of the placement of a video camera; providing
13 requirements for retaining and deleting video
14 recordings; providing prohibitions for the use of such
15 video cameras and recordings; providing that a school
16 or charter school principal is the custodian of such
17 video cameras and recordings; providing requirements
18 for such principals and video recordings; providing
19 requirements relating to student privacy; providing
20 requirements for the viewing of such video recordings;
21 providing an appeal process for actions of a school,
22 school district, or charter school; providing that
23 incidental viewings of video recordings by specified
24 persons are not a violation of certain provisions;
25 providing construction; requiring the Department of
26 Education to collect specified information;
27 authorizing the State Board of Education to adopt
28 rules; providing an effective date.
29
30 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
31
32 Section 1. Section 1003.5741, Florida Statutes, is created
33 to read:
34 1003.5741 Video cameras in certain public school
35 classrooms.—
36 (1) As used in this section, the term:
37 (a) “Incident” means an event, a circumstance, an act, or
38 an omission that results in the abuse or neglect of a student
39 by:
40 1. An employee of a public school, school district, or
41 charter school; or
42 2. Another student.
43 (b) “Self-contained classroom” means a classroom at a
44 public school or a charter school in which at least one student
45 in regular attendance is nonverbal and is provided special
46 education services and is assigned to one or more such
47 classrooms for at least 50 percent of the instructional day.
48 (2) A school district must provide a video camera to each
49 school with a self-contained classroom. A charter school must
50 provide a video camera to each self-contained classroom.
51 (3)(a) A video camera placed in a self-contained classroom
52 must be capable of all of the following:
53 1. Monitoring all areas of the self-contained classroom,
54 including, without limitation, any room attached to the self
55 contained classroom which is used for other purposes.
56 2. Recording audio from all areas of the self-contained
57 classroom, including, without limitation, any room attached to
58 the self-contained classroom which is used for other purposes.
59 (b) A video camera placed in a self-contained classroom may
60 not monitor a restroom or any other area in the self-contained
61 classroom in which a student changes his or her clothes, except
62 for the entryway, exitway, or hallway outside a restroom or
63 other area in which a student changes his or her clothes because
64 of the layout of the self-contained classroom.
65 (c) A video camera placed in a self-contained classroom is
66 not required to be in operation when students are not present in
67 the self-contained classroom.
68 (d) If there is an interruption in the operation of the
69 video camera for any reason, an explanation must be submitted in
70 writing to the school or charter school principal and, if
71 applicable, the district school board which explains the reason
72 for and duration of the interruption. The written explanation
73 must be maintained at the charter school or district school
74 board office for at least 1 year.
75 (4) Before a school or charter school initially places a
76 video camera in a self-contained classroom pursuant to this
77 section, the school or charter school shall provide written
78 notice of the placement of such video camera to all of the
79 following:
80 (a) The parent of each student who is assigned to the self
81 contained classroom.
82 (b) Each student who is assigned to the self-contained
83 classroom.
84 (c) The school district, if applicable.
85 (d) Each school or charter school employee who is assigned
86 to work with one or more students in the self-contained
87 classroom.
88 (5) A school or charter school shall:
89 (a) Retain video recorded from a video camera placed
90 pursuant to this section for at least 3 months after the date
91 the video was recorded, after which the recording shall be
92 deleted or otherwise made irretrievable; or
93 (b) Retain the recording until the conclusion of any
94 investigation or any administrative or legal proceedings that
95 result from the recording have been completed, including,
96 without limitation, the exhaustion of all appeals.
97 (6) A school, school district, or charter school may not:
98 (a) Allow regular, continuous, or continual monitoring of
99 video recorded under this section; or
100 (b) Use video recorded under this section for teacher
101 evaluations or any purpose other than for ensuring the health,
102 safety, and well-being of students receiving special education
103 services in a self-contained classroom.
104 (7) The school or charter school principal is the custodian
105 of a video camera operated pursuant to this section, all
106 recordings generated by that video camera, and access to such
107 recordings.
108 (a) The release or viewing of any video recording under
109 this section must comply with s. 1002.22.
110 (b) A school, school district, or charter school shall:
111 1. Conceal the identity of each student who appears in a
112 video recording but is not involved in the alleged incident
113 documented by the video recording, which the school allows to be
114 viewed under subsection (8), including, without limitation,
115 blurring the face of the uninvolved student.
116 2. Protect the confidentiality of all student records
117 contained in a video recording in accordance with s. 1002.22.
118 (8)(a) Within 7 days after receiving a request to view a
119 video recording, a school, school district, or charter school
120 shall allow the following persons to view a video recording made
121 under this section:
122 1. A school, school district, or charter school employee
123 who is involved in an alleged incident that is documented by the
124 video recording as part of the investigative process;
125 2. A parent of a student who is involved in an alleged
126 incident that is documented by the video recording and has been
127 reported to the school, school district, or charter school;
128 3. A school, school district, or charter school employee as
129 part of an investigation into an alleged incident that is
130 documented by the video recording and has been reported to the
131 school, school district, or charter school;
132 4. A law enforcement officer as part of an investigation
133 into an alleged incident that is documented by the video
134 recording and has been reported to the law enforcement agency;
135 or
136 5. The Department of Children and Families as part of a
137 child abuse or neglect investigation.
138 (b) A person who requests to view a recording shall make
139 himself or herself available for viewing the recording within 30
140 days after being notified by the school, school district, or
141 charter school that the person’s request has been granted.
142 (c) A person who views the recording and suspects that
143 child abuse has occurred must report the suspected child abuse
144 to the Department of Children and Families.
145 (9)(a) A person may appeal to the State Board of Education
146 an action by a school, school district, or charter school which
147 the person alleges to be in violation of this section.
148 (b) The state board shall grant a hearing on an appeal
149 under this subsection within 45 days after receiving the appeal.
150 (10) A school, school district, or charter school does not
151 violate subsection (7) if a contractor or other employee of the
152 school, school district, or charter school incidentally views a
153 video recording made under this section in connection with the
154 performance of his or her duties related to the following:
155 (a) The installation, operation, or maintenance of video
156 equipment; or
157 (b) The retention of video recordings.
158 (11) This section does not:
159 (a) Limit the access of the parent of a student, under the
160 Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. s.
161 1232g, or any other law, to a video recording regarding his or
162 her student.
163 (b) Waive any immunity from liability of a school district
164 or charter school or an employee of a school district or charter
165 school.
166 (c) Create any liability for a cause of action against a
167 school, school district, or charter school or an employee of a
168 school, school district, or charter school carrying out the
169 duties and responsibilities required by this section.
170 (d) Apply to self-contained classrooms in which the only
171 students receiving special education services are those who have
172 been deemed gifted.
173 (12) The department shall collect information relating to
174 the installation and maintenance of video cameras under this
175 section.
176 (13) The State Board of Education may adopt rules to
177 implement this section.
178 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.
