Connecticut school security camera law

Do Connecticut schools have to have security cameras?

Each local and regional board of education must review special-needs student transportation each year and make changes to keep students safe, which "may involve" placing school bus monitors or cameras on those vehicles. This is allowed, not required. When a student is in seclusion, monitoring can mean watching the student by video from close enough to give aid if needed. Each local and regional board must develop and carry out a school security and safety plan for each school; the statute does not mention cameras.

How do construction grants treat cameras?

The state School Safety Infrastructure Criteria must address the use of cameras throughout school buildings and at all entrances and exits, including closed-circuit television monitoring. The criteria apply to school building projects awarded state grants and to the school security infrastructure competitive grant program. The Commissioner of Administrative Services may turn down a school-construction grant application that does not meet the criteria. The commissioner may waive the criteria only if the applicant made a good faith effort and meeting them would be infeasible, unreasonable or excessively expensive. The 2015 School Safety Infrastructure Council report's criteria said video surveillance cameras shall be installed to show who enters and leaves the building, and that construction and renovation applications for state funding must meet the criteria to be approved. The Department of Administrative Services says that council was repealed by Public Act 22-118, which moved responsibility for the criteria to the School Building Projects Advisory Council. Public Act 26-68, approved May 26, 2026, renamed it the School Safety and Security Infrastructure Advisory Council. At its March 16, 2026 meeting the council reviewed a draft update of the criteria; the chair said they would be posted and sent to districts once approved, and that they are not a mandate to districts.

Do police get access to school camera footage?

Connecticut's public-records law lets agencies withhold operational specifications of security systems at government facilities, though a general description, cost and quality may be disclosed. Records withheld under that safety-risk exemption must still be given to a law enforcement agency that asks for them. State emergency management guidance says a camera funded through the Multi-Media School Security Grant Program must be able to send communications or notifications directly to law enforcement or their call centers. This is a grant condition only.

Is school video a public record?

Public-records law does not require release of photos, film or video made by a law enforcement or other government agency that show a minor, unless another provision requires it. In a 2014 case against the Bridgeport Board of Education, the FOI Commission found that school security videos related to a principal's conduct, not to the students in them, whose identities could not be made out. On those facts the Commission ruled the videos were not FERPA (federal student-records law) education records and ordered copies released; the ruling turned on its facts.

How long must footage be kept?

The State Library's municipal records retention schedule sets a minimum of two weeks for security surveillance tapes, after which they may be recycled. The education records schedule sets the same two-week minimum for surveillance video made on school buses. Tapes that become evidence in a disciplinary proceeding or litigation, or are subject to a notice of pending action, are kept longer.

Are there limits on where cameras go?

Connecticut's workplace surveillance law treats local and regional boards of education as employers. An employer may not run audio recording or closed-circuit TV to record or monitor employees in areas meant for their health or personal comfort, or for keeping their belongings, such as restrooms, locker rooms or lounges. That law protects employees; it says nothing about students. Violations carry a $500 fine for a first offense, $1,000 for a second, and $1,000 plus 30 days in jail for a third or later offense.

Does Connecticut limit facial recognition?

From October 1, 2026, a business covered by the state data privacy act that uses facial recognition on its premises for security faces new limits. That act does not apply to state or local government bodies, boards or districts, so it does not reach public school boards. It also does not apply to nonprofit organizations.

How can schools pay for cameras?

The school security infrastructure competitive grant program reimburses security costs, including installing surveillance cameras. Eligible costs also include real-time interoperable communications and multimedia sharing infrastructure; PA 25-102, approved June 24, 2025 and effective July 1, 2025, added emergency response communications hardware and personal emergency communication devices. Eligible applicants include state charter school governing authorities, the technical high school system, incorporated or endowed academies, and supervisory agents for nonpublic schools. Nonpublic schools and eligible child care centers or preschools may receive 50% of eligible expenses, up to $50,000. Total bond authorization for the program is $107 million. Up to $5 million of the school security bond money may be used by the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection for school security projects involving multimedia interoperable communications systems. Alliance district building-improvement grants can pay to install or upgrade security equipment that fits the criteria, including video surveillance devices. State emergency management guidance says the School Security Grant Program can fund interior and exterior camera systems. Its 2023 FAQ lists cameras that send real-time video to law enforcement as eligible under the multimedia program, and cameras that do not as eligible under the standard program.

Have lawmakers tried to require more cameras?

As introduced, 2026 HB 5325 would have required cameras in seclusion rooms. The committee version reported out had no camera provision, and the bill's last action was April 8, 2026, when it was tabled for the House calendar; it was not enacted. 2025 SB 1382 passed the Senate on June 2, 2025 as a standalone school mapping data grant and was tabled for the House calendar the same day; it was not enacted.