Should Schools Install Cameras in Classrooms Cybertraps 106

• Show Notes

  • News Item:

    • Florida representative from Naples, FL files HB 1055, which would require schools to consider and vote on a plan to install cameras at the front of every classroom
    • Any installed system would have the ability to record audio and video throughout the classroom, except any area in which children might change clothing.
    • Schools would be required to maintain video archives for at least three months, after which the video could be destroyed unless a request to review was made, or other legal proceeding.
    • Schools would required to blur the faces of any children not part of an "incident" under investigation.
    • Video may not be used to evaluate teachers
    • No provision for funding

  • Motivations for Camera Proposals

    • Student Safety
    • Teacher Safety
    • Parental Surveillance of Teaching Methods and Curricula
    • Teacher Evaluations

  • Potential Downsides

    • Financial and Logistical

      • Installation of Surveillance Systems Can Be Expensive
      • Video Storage Requirements Can Be Large

    • Legal

      • New duty of care for schools

        • Was video system properly installed?
        • Was video properly archived?
        • If system was not running, why not?

      • Possible evidence in myriad proceedings

      • Further temptation for obstruction of justice and spoliation

    • Privacy

      • Once Data Has Been Collected, It Is Very Difficult to Limit Its Use and Misuse
      • We Should Always Be Reluctant to Collect Data in the First Place
      • Will video be used to evaluate which students are friends or dislike each other?
      • Will cameras be powerful enough to read papers, notes, passwords being entered into devices, etc.
      • Risk of voyeuristic misuse

    • Mission Creep

      • Use of video to evaluate teachers
      • Will Students Be Graded on Attentiveness?
      • Anti-cheating tool?

    • Broader social issues

      • Trust in teachers and the educational system
      • Over-empowering small but highly vocal groups within the community
      • Furthering the culture of surveillance
      • Training children to accept surveillance as a constant fact of life (corporatist approach)

    • Has Dystopia Already Arrived?

      • Extensive surveillance already in schools (but typically not in classrooms)
      • Classrooms are already filled with potential "surveillance" cameras
      • Remote instruction has emboldened some parents

  • Resources

    • Florida HB 1055 https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2022/1055/BillText/Filed/PDF
    • #2021-12-30 Proposal Would Lead to Surveillance Cameras in Every Classroom, and Teachers to Wear Microphones https://flaglerlive.com/171423/florida-gop-bill-cameras/
    • #2021-07-20 The Absurd Proposal to Put Bodycams on Teachers Is ... Feasible? https://www.wired.com/story/the-absurd-proposal-to-put-bodycams-on-teachers-is-feasible/
    • #2021-07-08 Tech Companies Are Already Building Tucker Carlson’s School Surveillance Fever Dream https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvzyaa/tech-companies-are-already-building-tucker-carlsons-school-surveillance-fever-dream
    • #2021-07-08 Tucker Carlson calls for teachers to wear body cameras to prevent critical race theory teaching https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/tucker-carlson-teachers-race-theory-b1879886.html
    • #2021-06-11 ‘Watchdog’ group wants teachers to wear bodycams to assure they don’t teach Critical Race Theory in Nevada district https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-bodycam-school-teachers-critical-race-theory-nevada-20210611-3zqbbhzmprbqxpbwk6mbsjjxvy-story.html
    • #2021-06-11 Nevada group is pushing for teacher BODY CAMERAS to make sure they're not teaching students critical race theory https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9677295/Nevada-group-wants-teachers-wear-body-cameras-stop-CRT.html
    • #2017-02-09 I would never wear a body camera while teaching in school. Here’s why https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/09/never-wear-body-camera-in-school-teaching
    • #2017-02-08 Should schools give teachers body cams? https://nypost.com/2017/02/08/should-schools-give-teachers-body-cams/
    • [n.d.] Calla Body Worn Cameras https://www.calla.co/

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