Dallas-Fort Worth Districts Weigh Privacy, Security Concerns (TX)

November 23, 2010

Ever wonder who’s watching the kids?

In several school districts across North Texas, thousands of security cameras monitor students during the school day, in an effort to keep campuses safe.

As some school districts bulk up the number of cameras in schools, others are questioning access among administrators, security officers and even police departments. Districts must weigh privacy rights with safety concerns.

In Irving, even school-based resource police officers must submit written requests to view footage alongside school administrators, who can pull up footage from their computer at any time.

"They have all the access they need," said Irving ISD attorney James Deatherage. "They’ve got more to do than sit in front of a monitor all day."

On the other end of the spectrum, Richardson ISD allows complete access. Last spring, the district began providing the city’s 911 command center dispatchers the ability to view footage live.

Sgt. Kevin Perlich, Richardson police spokesman, cited one example where dispatchers were able to guide police toward making an arrest. A man who broke into the district’s Math/Science/Technology magnet school was caught on camera trying to steal laptops and musical instruments.

Dispatchers directed police to his location so they could make an arrest.

School officials also point to cameras helping with capturing footage of fights or vandalism.

Opinions across the board

As far as student and parent opinions go, they seem to depend on whether they value security or privacy more.

Richardson High School freshman Catie Baird, 14, said she feels safer at the school than at her previous school in Lewisville. "They think we need safety; we think we need safety," she said.

Her mother agrees. "I’d rather have them safe than private," Annabel Baird said.

David Gonzalez, 18, said he’s fine with cameras as long as they’re not placed in restrooms.

Other students aren’t fans of police watching them.

"If it happened in school, the school should see it, not them," said Cristian Duran, 15. "It’s none of their business. It didn’t happen in the streets. That’s what principals and teachers are there for."

School districts are cautious about camera placement, usually sticking to hallways and gathering places such as the school cafeteria. Some security officials say they don’t situate cameras near and inside bathrooms because they believe that violates students’ privacy.

The districts’ actions in many ways depend on differing interpretations of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA. Some believe they are education records that must be protected, while others view them as law enforcement records.
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"There’s no expectation of privacy in a public school," said Perlich, the Richardson police spokesman. "The inside of their backpack is personal, but the inside of the school itself – no."

Texas Education Agency DeEtta Culbertson said the agency does not offer specific guidelines on access to security cameras.

Curtis Clay, director of programs for the Texas School Safety Center at Texas State University in San Marcos, said he supports making footage accessible to police.

"Monitoring hallways – there’s nothing wrong with that," he said. "We’re talking about the safety of that campus. We’re talking about safety here; we’re not talking about putting cameras in restrooms and hidden places."

The American Civil Liberties Union has raised concerns about who has access to cameras. Matt Simpson, policy strategist for the ACLU of Texas, said he supports some sort of request process.

"Everything from red-light cameras to cameras in schools – if law enforcement is just looking at it all it’s a big waste of time," he said. "It should be a targeted search. It shouldn’t just be digging through. It should be suspicion of criminal activity."

Simpson said the group is concerned that student misbehavior previously treated with discipline now are increasingly being treated as crimes such as misdemeanors.

‘Not carte blanche access’

In Irving and Lewisville, police – even school-based resource officers – must request access to view footage alongside a school administrator.

"If they need something we provide it, but it’s not carte blanche access," said Lewisville spokeswoman Karen Permetti.

But other districts say safety is the top priority. Dallas ISD has its own police force with complete access. Plano ISD also allows officers to view video live or taped at any time.

While Irving police can’t peer into the 1,250 cameras watching Irving ISD students, they do watch students in neighboring Carrollton-Farmers Branch schools. That district has schools located in Irving.

"They have a legitimate right to that information to help them do their job," said security director Wade Lillie. Lillie said police can view footage live and have search capability to look at past footage. Without that ability, things would be "less efficient," he said.

He cited the example of a hallway fight where they can know right away which students are responsible.

"They would have to contact security and say, ‘I need to take a look at this camera from this time to this time,’ to see if anything’s there," Lillie said.

Irving ISD security director Pat Lamb said that while some police recently requested to watch footage live, the district was concerned about violating students’ privacy rights.

Police must provide a written request to watch it in the presence of a school administrator or have a subpoena to obtain a copy.

Principals can pull up digital footage on their computers to view with the officers.

"Our position as a district is that it’s not us vs. them," Lamb said. "We’ll cooperate with them."