Iowa school security camera law

What does Iowa law say about school security cameras?

A school district that buys cameras or other school safety and security equipment must install it and keep it in working condition. That section applies to school infrastructure a district bought on or after May 17, 2024. SAVE (Secure an Advanced Vision for Education) school-infrastructure spending covers school safety and security infrastructure, which includes security camera systems. The Legislature's 2026 table of amended sections lists no 2026 change to Iowa Code § 279.86 or § 423F.3.

What rules apply to weapons-detection camera software?

A district may buy firearm-detection software only from an organization on the list kept by the state homeland security department (HSEM). A system on that list must be able to integrate with existing security camera systems. For SAVE-funded firearm-detection software, video processing and storage must happen on district property or on servers in the United States. The statute directs HSEM to adopt rules setting security standards and model retention policies for that video and data. Data from approved systems, including video, must be encrypted in transit and at rest. Approved systems may not stream student images live or store them with the vendor, except for retained incident data. Video and data tied to a suspected unholstered weapon must be kept for 2,555 days (about seven years). Districts and accredited nonpublic schools that bought a weapons-detection system after May 17, 2024, before HSEM first published its list, are treated as meeting Iowa Code § 279.86 and the rule if the listed conditions are met. The 2026 amendment to that rule (ARC 0395D) took effect July 29, 2026.

Can police get school camera video?

For approved weapons-detection systems, the HSEM rule says requests from prosecutors or law enforcement to copy or transmit incident video will be complied with. Video of an unholstered-weapon incident belongs solely to the school district that bought and installed the software. The district decides whether to send that video to outside sources, with the prosecutor or law enforcement agreeing.

Is school camera footage a public record?

Iowa's open-records law keeps personal information in student records held by a school confidential. In a 2019 order, Iowa's Public Information Board found that a district properly withheld school bus video of students as a confidential student record under that provision and FERPA (the federal student records privacy law). The law also keeps security records confidential when disclosure could reasonably be expected to put life or property at risk. The only open-records exemption that names security camera footage covers cameras the legislative branch runs on state property; none names school camera footage.

Does Iowa's biometric privacy law reach school cameras?

Iowa's consumer data privacy law, which covers biometric data, does not apply to the state or its political subdivisions. That law's definition of biometric data excludes photographs and video recordings and the data generated from them.

What did the state task force recommend?

A 2024 law (HF 2652) created a task force to recommend school safety standards, including standards for cameras. The task force recommended interior camera coverage beyond entry points, such as hallways and enclosed stairwells. It recommended that video systems be able to give local first responders access during an active emergency. Its report says its video recommendation does not require new construction and planned renovations to install video surveillance.

How can schools pay for cameras?

SAVE school-infrastructure money may be spent on security camera systems. The state's School Safety Improvement Fund is closed; applications are no longer accepted, and the deadline for all outstanding work was December 31, 2025.

What camera bills did not pass?

HF 2681 (2026) would have required districts to install a video recording system in special-education classrooms. Its explanation says it would have reached school districts, charter schools and innovation zone schools, and the fiscal note put the initial cost for public schools at $21.7 million. HF 2681 did not pass; its last recorded action was an amendment filed March 12, 2026, while it sat on the House calendar. HF 603 (2025) would have required a video surveillance system in each attendance center, with access for local law enforcement and first responders during an active emergency. HF 603 did not pass; its last recorded action was a subcommittee recommendation to pass on March 25, 2025. SF 2061 (2026) would have moved $1 million a year from SAVE into a nonpublic-school safety infrastructure grant fund; it did not pass. The General Assembly adjourned its 2026 regular session on May 3, 2026.