Last modified: April 9, 2025

Policy 6804 P4 Building Safety and Security: Security Cameras

Download Policy 6804 P4 Building Safety and Security: Security Cameras

Overview

Security cameras are found on School District Grounds, Property or Buses.

Purpose

The purpose of this procedure is to establish a standard for the use of security cameras, DVRs, viewing work stations and the resulting footage from this equipment.

Scope/Responsibility

This procedure applies to all personnel and entities working on behalf of the district that have access to the camera system or are involved in a specific case where they are involved in footage review.

General Provisions

The district may use security cameras and the resulting recordings throughout the year for the protection of district property and the promotion of safe schools and workplaces.

The district shall not use security cameras for other purposes unless expressly authorized by the Safety and Security Committee. Only district personnel or individuals authorized by the Safety and Security Committee or designee shall have access to security cameras, monitors, or monitoring tools and be permitted to operate the controls, capture, or share footage.

School district grounds, buildings, property and vehicles used for district purposes may be equipped with security cameras. Equipment may be placed to monitor areas where there is not a reasonable expectation of privacy. These areas include:

school buses
school grounds
parking lots
entrances, exits
hallways
front offices
gymnasiums and athletic facilities
cafeterias
libraries
elevators
other public, shared, or common spaces

Security cameras shall not be placed in areas where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, including locker rooms, changing rooms, restrooms, lactation break rooms, private offices, and conference rooms.

Only personnel authorized by the Safety and Security Committee or designee shall install or adjust security cameras or related equipment.

Appropriate signage will be posted at major entrances to school buildings, on school buses, and other district property, buildings, and grounds notifying students, staff and the community that the buildings and grounds may be under electronic surveillance.

By this policy, the District does not guarantee that every school interior, parking lot, general grounds, building, or bus will be equipped with a security camera, that the security camera in a specific area or on a specific bus will be in operation at a specific time, or that a security camera will record specific conduct or expression, or that security camera resolution will be sufficient to capture images with clarity in all circumstances. In communication with each school, the Information Technology department will need to take the DVR/cameras offline for maintenance and no live/recorded video will be available at these times.

It is a violation of this policy to interfere, obstruct, or disable any of the School District’s cameras or recording systems. This includes covering the cameras, cutting the wires, or disabling the system in any way.

Records relating to the total number, specific placement, and technical capabilities of the district’s security cameras and other security surveillance systems are classified as protected records under the Government Records Access and Management Act.

Review of Live Camera Feed and Stored Security Camera Video

Security Cameras on School District Grounds, Property or Buses may be reviewed by the following personnel:

Secondary schools: Principal, All Admin, Dean of Students
Elementary: Principal, Facilitator
IT: Designated person(s) required in order to aid in maintenance and support
School Resource Officer when acting as a school official to promote school safety and the physical security of students, or in emergency situations as allowed by FERPA
Others: Human Resource Department, Superintendency, Special Education Director

Law Enforcement/School Resource Officer Access to Security Camera Video

School resource officers are designated as school officials for purposes of the promotion of school safety and the physical security of students, subject to any limitations of federal or state law and any applicable agreement or memorandum of understanding between the District and applicable law enforcement agencies. Except as allowed by FERPA, local police officers acting as “school officials” may not redisclose personally identifiable information from education records to others, including other employees of the officer’s police department who are not acting as school officials, without consent.

Use of Security Camera Video

The district may use preserved security camera footage for any lawful purpose, including in student disciplinary proceedings, employment proceedings and other district purposes.

This procedure does not apply where a law enforcement agency presents a search warrant authorizing the agency’s installation of video or audio surveillance on district property. Security cameras shall monitor and/or record only video images where state or federal law restricts the use of audio recordings. In accordance with federal and/or state laws, audio recordings shall be monitored or recorded by security cameras on school buses.

Non-school personnel will be authorized to view preserved camera footage on a case-by-case basis by the Safety and Security Committee or designee. Preserved footage will be released by the Safety and Security Committee or designee in limited circumstances on a case-by-case basis as follows:

In order to protect the health and safety of all students, recordings that reveal unlawful actions will be brought to the attention of and/or released to law enforcement agencies.
A parent/guardian of a student pictured on preserved camera footage may be permitted by the Safety and Security Committee or designee to view camera footage where the camera footage is determined to be an education record under FERPA.
A parent/guardian of a student shall be permitted to view any preserved camera footage that is used in a disciplinary action against their child. Where the footage is the education record of more than one child, it may be necessary to blur or redact camera footage prior to making it available for viewing.
Camera footage that is an education record shall not be disclosed in response to a public records request without parental consent unless an exception to FERPA applies allowing the disclosure.
Release of any footage involving an employee must be authorized by the HR Director or designee of the HR Director.

Preservation and Storage of Security Camera Footage

All camera recordings should be stored in a secure place to avoid tampering and ensure confidentiality in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and these procedures.

Typically, recordings will be saved for at least fourteen calendar days. After this time, if no incidents have been reported that require the footage, it will be overwritten by the system as storage space is needed for newer recordings. Some older DVR systems may have fewer days of storage. The Safety and Security Committee is authorized to keep these DVRs in operation until their useful life expires.

The Safety and Security Committee or designees may preserve any available footage by creating an electronic copy relevant to a possible disciplinary action, criminal, safety, or security investigation(s) or for other evidentiary purposes.

Approved by Board of Education

June 9, 2020