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         1003.5741Video 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.

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