Arkansas school security camera law

Do Arkansas schools have to have security cameras?

Each public school district and open-enrollment public charter school must promote student security and safety through a list of measures in § 6-15-1303(j). One required measure is setting up systems for direct communication with local law enforcement, which "may include" emergency alert systems, radios programmed with police frequencies, and school camera systems police can access in real time. Real-time camera access is a listed example, not a requirement. The state rule frames these measures as each district's work with local law enforcement to improve school safety and security. The real-time camera option was added by Act 237 of 2023 (the LEARNS Act), approved March 8, 2023.

Do police get access to school camera feeds?

Real-time police access to school cameras is listed only as an optional way to communicate with law enforcement. That provision sets no limit on where cameras may go and no notice, audio or retention rule.

Are cameras part of school safety assessments?

A public school district must conduct a comprehensive school safety assessment at least once every three years. The assessment must cover monitoring and surveillance, including its type and extent. Records of the safety assessment are not public records and are not open for inspection under the Freedom of Information Act of 1967.

Who is covered?

Under the school safety rules, "public school district" includes open-enrollment public charter schools.

Does Arkansas limit facial recognition?

Arkansas's 2025 children and teens' online privacy act counts facial templates and other biometric identifiers as protected personal information. That act does not cover school districts themselves: a school district is excluded from the businesses it regulates.

How can schools pay for cameras?

The legislature appropriated $50,000,000 for School Safety Grants for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, and another $50,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027. The state rule says grant funding should be made available to each district, open-enrollment charter school, and private school with at least 50 students. Grant funds are paid as reimbursement for eligible expenses incurred in the fiscal year the money is available. The 2025 School Safety Grant list of approved expenditures from DESE (the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education) includes security cameras for school campuses. Its priority expenditures include safety measures for buses and transportation, such as cameras.

Have lawmakers tried to require classroom cameras?

A 2019 bill, HB1019, to require video cameras in special-education classrooms on request died on the House calendar when the session ended. A 2017 bill, HB2117, to require cameras in certain classrooms on request was sent for interim study.