At its July 28 meeting, the Lyon County School District Board of Trustees approved the first reading of a new policy that would require video and audio recording in classrooms covered by substitute teachers, a measure district leaders say is intended to improve safety and assist in investigations.
Deputy Superintendent Stacy Cooper said the proposal, Policy INIB, would activate classroom cameras any time a substitute takes over a room.
“Recording will be required wherever a substitute teacher takes over a classroom, allowing for improved monitoring for the safety and well-being of our students and staff,” she told the board.
Last April, a substitute teacher was arrested and accused of choking two students, an incident that raised public attention about classroom safety, although trustees did not reference that case during their discussion.
Cooper said classroom cameras would be turned on at the start of the day and shut off at the end of the day. She said recordings would be stored on district IT systems and accessed only through a formal help desk ticket submitted to the IT department.
“Nobody has the opportunity to review the video surveillance unless an incident has actually occurred in the classroom and it warrants an investigation,” she said.
Trustees asked for clarity on who can authorize access to footage. Cooper said administrators would work with her office to submit an IT ticket when a complaint or student behavior incident requires review. She added that the district would follow FERPA and union rules regarding privacy.
Several trustees voiced support, noting concerns about classroom behavior when substitutes are present. Trustee Sherry Parsons said the policy could help deter misconduct.
“I think it will probably help behavior in the classroom, which I think, with substitutes, sometimes is a problem,” she said.
The district is also preparing to allow full-time teachers to request continuous recording in their classrooms. Superintendent Tim Logan said some teachers have already asked for that option, but union agreements currently prevent universal recording.
He said teachers may voluntarily sign permission forms to enable cameras in their rooms.
“I think they found that it’s more comforting to know that there is protection when kids act out and there’s misbehavior, and it was caught on film,” Logan said.
Board members discussed how the system would function when substitutes move between multiple classrooms in a day, and Logan acknowledged that coverage may not be perfect.
“Some of those shared rooms where you have six different teachers throughout a day, it’s probably going to be a little more complicated, but we’ll do our best to try to capture all of it,” he said.
Cooper said substitutes would be informed upon arrival that they may be recorded, which she hopes will serve as a deterrent to negative behavior.
Logan said substitute teachers he has spoken with told him they like the idea and would use it to deter student misbehavior by informing the class that the room is being filmed.
“There is an interest out there to protect themselves, and this is the way to do it,” Logan said.
Trustees also asked whether administrators should have direct access to footage.
LCSD Executive Director of Operations Harmon Bains said that would require significant infrastructure changes and expense.
The board directed Cooper to add language specifying that recordings can only be viewed through a formal IT request initiated by district-level administration. Trustees then approved the first reading with that amendment.
“We are taking baby steps with this,” Logan said. “Right now, I’d rather have substitute teachers and teachers feel confident that people are not just viewing this video willy-nilly.”
The revised policy will return for a second reading at a future meeting.
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