Florida Senate - 2026 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 1170
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LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
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The Committee on Education Pre-K - 12 (Calatayud) recommended
the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete lines 20 - 168
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. Section 1003.574, Florida Statutes, is amended
6 to read:
7 1003.574 Video cameras in public school classrooms; pilot
8 program.—Beginning with the 2021-2022 school year, the Video
9 Cameras in Public School Classrooms Pilot Program is created for
10 a period of 3 school years.
11 (1) As used in this section, the term:
12 (a) “Incident” means an event, a circumstance, an act, or
13 an omission that results in the abuse or neglect of a student
14 by:
15 1. An employee of a public school or school district; or
16 2. Another student.
17 (b) “School district” means the Broward County Public
18 Schools.
19 (b)(c) “Self-contained classroom” means a classroom at a
20 public school in which a majority of the students in regular
21 attendance are provided special education services and are
22 assigned to one or more such classrooms for at least 50 percent
23 of the instructional day.
24 (2)(a) A parent of a student who is in regular attendance
25 in a self-contained classroom may submit a written request to
26 the school principal or the principal’s designee for the
27 installation and operation of a video camera in that self
28 contained school district shall provide a video camera to any
29 school with a self-contained classroom upon the written request
30 of a parent of a student in the classroom.
31 (b) The district school board shall adopt a policy
32 establishing a process for school personnel to consider and
33 respond to requests submitted under paragraph (a). If the
34 district school board has not adopted a policy under this
35 paragraph, it shall do so at the next regularly scheduled
36 meeting, but no later than 60 days after receipt by the school
37 district of the first request submitted under paragraph (a)
38 Within 30 days after receipt of the request from a parent, a
39 video camera shall be operational in each self-contained
40 classroom in which the parent’s student is in regular attendance
41 for the remainder of the school year, unless the parent
42 withdraws his or her request in writing.
43 (c) The policy required under paragraph (b) must, at a
44 minimum, do all of the following:
45 1. Establish a reasonable submission window for requests to
46 be consolidated for consideration and response.
47 2. Establish criteria for the approval or denial of a
48 request.
49 3. Designate the school or district personnel responsible
50 for receiving, reviewing, and responding to requests.
51 4. Require written notice to the parent acknowledging
52 receipt of the request.
53 5. Allow the parent to submit supporting information and
54 documentation in support of the request.
55 6. Require a written determination approving or denying the
56 request and providing the basis for the determination.
57 7. Establish a timeframe for issuing the written
58 determination after the close of the submission window required
59 under subparagraph 1.
60 8. Provide a process for escalation or review of a denial.
61 9. Require compliance with the notice requirements in
62 subsection (5) before a school initially places a video camera
63 in a self-contained classroom.
64 (d) A parent may not submit more than one request under
65 this subsection per student per school year, except upon a
66 material change in circumstances as defined in the district
67 school board policy.
68 (e) If a request is approved under the policy, a video
69 camera must be operational in the self-contained classroom
70 within 30 days after the date of the written determination
71 approving the request and must remain operational for the
72 remainder of the school year, unless the parent withdraws the
73 request in writing.
74 (3) If the student who is the subject of the initial
75 request is no longer in attendance in the classroom and a school
76 discontinues operation of a video camera during a school year,
77 no later than the 5th school day before the date the operation
78 of the video camera is discontinued, the school must notify the
79 parents of each student in regular attendance in the classroom
80 that operation of the video camera will cease unless the
81 continued use of the camera is requested by a parent. No later
82 than the 10th school day before the end of each school year, the
83 school must notify the parents of each student in regular
84 attendance in the classroom that operation of the video camera
85 will not continue during the following school year unless a
86 written request is submitted by a parent for the next school
87 year.
88 (4)(a) A video camera placed in a self-contained classroom
89 must be capable of all of the following:
90 1. Monitoring all areas of the self-contained classroom,
91 including, without limitation, any room attached to the self
92 contained classroom which is used for other purposes.
93 2. Recording audio from all areas of the self-contained
94 classroom, including, without limitation, any room attached to
95 the self-contained classroom which is used for other purposes.
96 (b) A video camera placed in a self-contained classroom may
97 not monitor a restroom or any other area in the self-contained
98 classroom where a student changes his or her clothes, except for
99 the entryway, exitway, or hallway outside a restroom or other
100 area where a student changes his or her clothes because of the
101 layout of the self-contained classroom.
102 (c) A video camera placed in a self-contained classroom is
103 not required to be in operation when students are not present in
104 the self-contained classroom.
105 (d) If there is an interruption in the operation of the
106 video camera for any reason, an explanation must be submitted in
107 writing to the school principal and the district school board
108 which explains the reason for and duration of the interruption.
109 The written explanation must be maintained at the district
110 school board office for at least 1 year.
111 (5) Before a school initially places a video camera in a
112 self-contained classroom pursuant to this section, the school
113 shall provide written notice of the placement of such video
114 camera to all of the following:
115 (a) The parent of each student who is assigned to the self
116 contained classroom.
117 (b) Each student who is assigned to the self-contained
118 classroom.
119 (c) The school district.
120 (d) Each school employee who is assigned to work with one
121 or more students in the self-contained classroom.
122 (6) A school shall:
123 (a) Retain video recorded from a video camera placed
124 pursuant to this section for at least 3 months after the date
125 the video was recorded, after which the recording must shall be
126 deleted or otherwise made irretrievable unretrievable; or
127 (b) Retain the recording until the conclusion of any
128 investigation or any administrative or legal proceedings that
129 result from the recording have been completed, including,
130 without limitation, the exhaustion of all appeals.
131 (7) A school or school district may not:
132 (a) Allow regular, continuous, or continual monitoring of
133 video recorded under this section; or
134 (b) Use video recorded under this section for teacher
135 evaluations or any purpose other than for ensuring the health,
136 safety, and well-being of students receiving special education
137 services in a self-contained classroom, which constitutes
138 security or surveillance of buildings or grounds under s.
139 1014.04(1)(i)4.; or
140
141 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
142 And the title is amended as follows:
143 Delete lines 2 - 12
144 and insert:
145 An act relating to education; amending s. 1003.574,
146 F.S.; deleting references to the Video Cameras in
147 Public School Classrooms Pilot Program; deleting an
148 obsolete definition; authorizing certain parents to
149 submit a written request to the school principal for
150 installation and operation of a video camera in a
151 self-contained classroom; requiring a district school
152 board, within a specified timeframe, to adopt a policy
153 establishing a process for school personnel to
154 consider and respond to such requests; providing
155 minimum requirements for such policy; limiting the
156 number of requests a parent may submit per student per
157 school year, subject to an exception; requiring that a
158 video camera be operational within a specified
159 timeframe after approval of a request under the
160 policy; prohibiting a school or school district from