Honorable Larry Taylor, Chair, Senate Committee on Education
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB507 by Lucio (Relating to the placement of video cameras in self-contained classrooms providing special education services.), As Introduced
No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would require school districts and charter schools, on the request of a parent, board trustee, or staff member, to provide equipment including video cameras in self-contained classrooms in which certain students received special services. Each campus that received equipment would be required to place the video camera in a self-contained classroom in which the only students in regular attendance were students who were eligible to take an alternative assessment and were nonverbal or had limited ability to communicate. Cameras must record audio and would have to be capable of covering all areas of the classroom with the exception of bathrooms or areas in which a student's clothes were changed.
The bill would require school districts and charter schools to provide parents with written notice that video monitoring cameras were to be installed prior to installation, but would not require the district to secure parental consent. The bill would prohibit a district or charter school from placing a camera in the classroom of a student whose parent had sent a written objection to the district or charter school within 30 days of notification.
The bill would require a school district or charter school to keep the recorded video for at least one year after it was recorded, and would prohibit regular or continual monitoring of video recorded under this section by a district or charter school.
A school district or charter school would be allowed to solicit and accept gifts, grants, and donations to use for placing video cameras in classrooms.
The bill would apply beginning with the 2013 - 2014 school year.
Local Government Impact
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is not able to report the number of self-contained classrooms that are used solely for the students described by the bill. However, there are approximately 86,425 students with disabilities being served in self-contained settings in fiscal year 2014. Assuming a request was received for camera installation at each applicable campus and that at least one camera was required for every five students, a minimum of 17,285 cameras would be required to be made available for installation statewide. The estimated minimum cost to purchase an inexpensive camera with limited-quality video or audio is $150 per camera, or $2.6 million total. There would be additional costs for installation and maintenance of the cameras.
There would be additional costs for equipment to store the video and keep it secure as well. Districts could also incur costs to purchase masking software in case video became subject to public information requests.
Actual costs would vary depending on whether a request for camera installation was received, how many classrooms were considered self-contained, how many students met the bill's criteria, the number of cameras to be purchased, and whether schools chose to install and maintain the cameras or outsource the installation and maintenance.