District of Columbia school security camera law

What does D.C. law say about school security cameras?

For each DCPS (D.C. Public Schools) facility, the Department of General Services (DGS) must work with the principal and the local school advisory team to assess the building against a list of security objectives at least once a year. One of those objectives is fully operational surveillance systems, with properly installed and oriented cameras, intrusion alarms, and connections to a central security operations hub. The security-objectives provision was added by D.C. Law 25-50, § 1032, effective September 6, 2023, in a subtitle called the School Security and Transparency Amendment Act of 2023. Separately, the citywide Master Facilities Plan must include a safety and security assessment of school buildings that analyzes active and passive surveillance capabilities. That plan is due every 10 years, beginning December 15, 2017.

Can police see school camera feeds?

A D.C. rule lets the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) make agreements with public entities to access their outside video feeds; it allows these agreements, it does not require them. In that rule, "public entities" means District of Columbia, state or federal agencies. When MPD receives a camera feed from another agency or entity, MPD's camera rules govern how it uses that feed. MPD may not use audio with its camera system without a court order. This binds MPD, not schools. MPD says only DCPS officials can grant police access to the DCPS school camera network, under set protocols; this is an agency statement, not a statute or rule. MPD also says it cannot reach outside camera networks, including the DCPS network, without the controlling agency's prior permission. MPD's own video surveillance is governed by regulations for its Joint Operations Command Center; that statute does not mention schools.

Is school camera footage public, and who may see it?

DGS must withhold from disclosure work order data on deficiencies found in the yearly security assessments, including security vulnerabilities. D.C.'s public records law (FOIA) lets the District withhold that security-deficiency data, which includes problems with surveillance systems. D.C. FOIA's general privacy exemption lets an agency withhold information whose release would be a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Under D.C.'s student digital privacy law, which covers public and public charter schools, personally identifiable student information includes a video recording that contains a student's image or voice. Federal FERPA (student records privacy law) guidance says a school surveillance video of students fighting that is used in discipline is directly related to those students. The same guidance says surveillance video created and kept by a school's law enforcement unit for a law enforcement purpose is not an education record.

Can staff turn on a student device's camera?

School staff at public and public charter schools may not remotely turn on or access the audio or video functions of a student's school-issued device, except in listed cases. One exception allows it when needed to respond to an imminent threat to life or safety, limited to that purpose.

What do DCPS camera contracts show?

DCPS's 2023 camera-services solicitation says its video surveillance system has about 9,000 cameras and 154 onsite servers. The same solicitation specifies servers that can hold at least 30 days of motion-activated recording; that is a hardware specification in a contract, not a retention law or policy.

Has D.C. studied school cameras?

The School Safety Coordination Act of 2023 required a committee report to consider appropriate uses of security cameras to monitor and respond to campus threats without compromising student privacy. That report was due to the Mayor and Council by February 1, 2024. In agency guidance, the Deputy Mayor for Education's school emergency Playbook lists buying security systems and cameras as an example of a prevention and protection step.

Is there money for cameras?

The District's Private Security Camera System Incentive Program covers exterior cameras on buildings owned or leased by an individual, business, nonprofit, religious institution or defined entity; that paragraph does not name schools. Any camera system bought through the program must be registered with MPD.