Bill would allow recordings in Florida classrooms, force teachers to wear microphones

Count on News 2 | By Evan Donovan | January 4, 2022

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) — A new bill filed in the Florida Legislature would allow video and audio recordings in school classrooms, forcing teachers to wear microphones and allowing parents to review video of any “incidents.”

HB 1055 is sponsored by Florida Rep. Bob Rommel, R-Naples.

It would allow school districts to install video cameras in classrooms for the purposes of recording an “incident,” which it defines as abuse or neglect of a student by an employee or another student.

Parents of a child involved in an incident must be allowed to review the video within a week, with a stipulation that the identity of other students who aren’t involved must be blurred.

Teachers in schools that adopt cameras would be required to wear microphones. Cameras must be placed at the front of the classroom, capable of monitoring video and audio from all areas except a restroom or other changing areas.

Parents, students and employees would have to be notified before cameras are installed.

Principals would be in charge of all recordings, which must be kept for three months or “until the conclusion of any investigation or any administrative or legal proceedings.” After that, the video must be destroyed.

The cameras cannot be livestreamed or continually monitored, and videos cannot be used for teacher evaluations.

The law would require all school districts to complete and vote on whether to implement classroom cameras by Jan. 1, 2023.