Sec. 29.022. VIDEO SURVEILLANCE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION SETTINGS. (a) In order to promote student safety on request by a parent, trustee, or staff member, a school district or open-enrollment charter school shall provide equipment, including a video camera, to each school in the district or each charter school campus in which a student who receives special education services in a self-contained classroom or other special education setting is enrolled. Each school or campus that receives equipment shall place, operate, and maintain one or more video cameras in each self-contained classroom or other special education setting in which a majority of the students in regular attendance are:
(1) provided special education and related services; and
(2) assigned to a self-contained classroom or other special education setting for at least 50 percent of the instructional day.
(b) A school or campus that places a video camera in a classroom or other special education setting in accordance with Subsection (a) shall operate and maintain the camera in the classroom or setting as long as the classroom or setting continues to satisfy the requirements under Subsection (a).
(c) Video cameras placed under this section must be capable of:
(1) covering all areas of the classroom or other special education setting, except that the inside of a bathroom or any area in the classroom or setting in which a student's clothes are changed may not be visually monitored; and
(2) recording audio from all areas of the classroom or other special education setting.
(d) Before a school or campus places a video camera in a classroom or other special education setting under this section, the school or campus shall provide written notice of the placement to all school or campus staff and to the parents of a student receiving special education services in the classroom or setting.
(e) A school district or open-enrollment charter school shall retain video recorded from a camera placed under this section for at least six months after the date the video was recorded.
(f) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may solicit and accept gifts, grants, and donations from any person for use in placing video cameras in classrooms or other special education settings under this section.
(g) This section does not:
(1) waive any immunity from liability of a school district or open-enrollment charter school, or of district or school officers or employees; or
(2) create any liability for a cause of action against a school district or open-enrollment charter school or against district or school officers or employees.
(h) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may not:
(1) allow regular or continual monitoring of video recorded under this section; or
(2) use video recorded under this section for teacher evaluation or for any other purpose other than the promotion of safety of students receiving special education services in a self-contained classroom or other special education setting.
(i) A video recording of a student made according to this section is confidential and may not be released or viewed except as provided by this subsection or Subsection (j). A school district or open-enrollment charter school shall release a recording for viewing by:
(1) a school district employee or a parent or guardian of a student who is involved in an incident documented by the recording for which a complaint has been reported to the district, on request of the employee, parent, or guardian, respectively;
(2) appropriate Department of Family and Protective Services personnel as part of an investigation under Section 261.406, Family Code;
(3) a peace officer, a school nurse, a district administrator trained in de-escalation and restraint techniques as provided by commissioner rule, or a human resources staff member designated by the board of trustees of the school district or the governing body of the open-enrollment charter school in response to a complaint or an investigation of district or school personnel or a complaint of abuse committed by a student; or
(4) appropriate agency or State Board for Educator Certification personnel or agents as part of an investigation.
(j) If a person described by Subsection (i)(3) or (4) who views the video recording believes that the recording documents a possible violation under Subchapter E, Chapter 261, Family Code, the person shall notify the Department of Family and Protective Services for investigation in accordance with Section 261.406, Family Code. If any person described by Subsection (i)(2), (3), or (4) who views the recording believes that the recording documents a possible violation of district or school policy, the person may allow access to the recording to appropriate legal and human resources personnel. A recording believed to document a possible violation of district or school policy may be used as part of a disciplinary action against district or school personnel and shall be released at the request of the student's parent or guardian in a legal proceeding. This subsection does not limit the access of a student's parent to a record regarding the student under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g) or other law.
(k) The commissioner may adopt rules to implement and administer this section, including rules regarding the special education settings to which this section applies.
Added by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1147 (S.B. 507), Sec. 2, eff. June 19, 2015.
Last modified: September 28, 2016