Colorado school security camera law

Does Colorado limit facial recognition in schools?

A school district, a school or a district charter school may not sign a contract with any vendor to buy, or get services for, any facial recognition service. Institute charter schools (those authorized by the State Charter School Institute) face the same ban. SB25-143, approved April 18, 2025, removed the ban's expiration date and added new exceptions and conditions. The ban does not cover a facial recognition contract already in effect on SB25-143's effective date.

When may a school use facial recognition?

One exception applies when a school official or law enforcement officer determines that a person whose face was captured has made an articulable and significant threat against a school or anyone in it, and facial recognition may help keep the school safe. Another applies when a student runs off from a school class, event or program, or is reported lost or missing. Another applies to a person ordered by a court or by the school administration to stay off school district property. A school using facial recognition under these safety exceptions must notify all students, parents and guardians, and staff, and must post notices at the entrances to school grounds. Once turned on for an exempt situation, it may not be used for any other purpose, and it must be turned off as soon as the person is identified and located. If a system is kept running, it must not be used to identify anyone, actively or passively, unless an exempt situation is actively happening. Each school district must adopt a facial recognition policy with clear rules on access and oversight, naming the specific personnel allowed to use it, such as school administrators and law enforcement officials. A school or school contractor may not keep anyone's biometric identifier (data from someone's body used to identify them) for longer than 18 months. Under the curriculum exception, a student's biometric identifier may not be processed without consent from the student and a parent or guardian.

Do any Colorado school rooms need a camera?

If a school uses a room for seclusion as a type of restraint, the room must have at least one window to watch the student when the door is closed; if a window is not feasible, monitoring must be with a video camera. This rule is not new: before 2025 it sat in C.R.S. 26-20-111(5), and HB25-1248 moved it into the education title. It covers school districts, district charter schools, institute charter schools and BOCES (boards of cooperative services) that run public schools.

Do police get access to school camera feeds?

Office of School Safety guidance (2024) lists camera controls among the items schools should provide to first responders. This is guidance, not a legal duty.

What do state construction guidelines say about cameras?

The BEST construction guidelines say they are not mandatory standards for districts, charter schools, institute charter schools, BOCES or the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind. Within those guidelines, a central video system should be able to monitor live feeds from many cameras from a central location and remote locations. The guidelines call for at least 30 days of storage of all video at 15 frames per second. They also say consideration shall be given to cameras with built-in microphones.

Is camera information a public record?

Under Colorado's open-records law, a records custodian may deny inspection of specialized details of security arrangements or investigations when disclosure would be contrary to the public interest. Records of spending on security systems stay open, except for the parts that contain specialized security details.

How can schools pay for security?

Colorado law creates a School Security Disbursement Program to give money to eligible entities to improve security in public schools. The money may go to capital construction that improves security, including installed hardware, devices or equipment; cameras are not named. School districts, district charter schools and institute charter schools are eligible.

What recent bills failed?

HB26-1321, to change the school security grant program, was postponed indefinitely by the Senate Committee on Education on April 29, 2026. SB26-071, on law enforcement use of surveillance technology, was postponed indefinitely by the Senate Committee on Judiciary on May 6, 2026.