731.3

SECURITY CAMERA AND ELECTRONIC MONITORING EQUIPMENT

In pursuit of the Board of Education goals related to safety, security, and accountability, the Board authorizes the District’s lawful placement and use of video surveillance and other electronic monitoring equipment on District property and/or in connection with District programs, operations, and services. Any such placement and use shall not conflict with any express restriction or prohibition included in this Policy. This Policy is not intended to grant or create any expectation of privacy as to any time or location where a person would not already have an enforceable expectation of privacy to be free from such surveillance or monitoring.  

Subject to this and other District policies and rules, information that the District obtains through the use of the District’s surveillance/electronic monitoring equipment may be used by the District for lawful purposes. 

Regular Surveillance Activities

Regarding the electronic monitoring equipment that the District uses for surveillance purposes on an ongoing and reasonably regular basis:

• The equipment may be placed and used in locations where individuals do not have a legally enforceable expectation of privacy to be free from the applicable surveillance and monitoring. For example:

• Video surveillance and monitoring may be used in areas such as (1) common areas and other shared spaces within District buildings, such as hallways, entryways, libraries, gymnasiums, cafeterias, and, unless exceptional considerations apply, rooms that are regularly used as classrooms; (2) District parking lots; and (3) outdoor District facilities. 

• No camera, video recorder, or similar device that is capable of recording, capturing, or transmitting images or video shall be placed or operated as electronic monitoring equipment under this Policy in any restroom, locker room, or other designated changing area where it would be reasonably expected that individuals may be in a state of full or partial undress such that a person’s intimate body parts or a person’s normally-covered undergarments may be exposed to view. This express restriction on electronic monitoring equipment in such locations is in addition to the restrictions that are established in the Board’s separate policy regarding the use of cell phones and other recording devices in locker rooms and similar locations. 
• Any audio surveillance functions/capabilities of such electronic monitoring equipment shall be disabled unless enabled use in the specific context is expressly authorized either by the Board or, if not in conflict with a Board decision or directive, by the District Administrator. Board authorization includes authorization established in this Policy or in another Board Policy. 
• The Board/administrative authorization requirements of the preceding paragraph are not directed at the lawful use of a device or other equipment that captures/transmits and that may also record audio of a specific communication when such use occurs by an official, employee, or agent of the District who is a party to the specific communication or who is acting with the prior consent of a party to the communication. However, such use as a party or with the consent of a party may be separately restricted or prohibited by applicable law or by an applicable District policy, work rule, or supervisory directive. 
  • The Board expressly authorizes the lawful use of equipment that transmits and that may also record audio (1) as part of the verification procedures for controlling building access and obtaining visitor identification (e.g., for a visitor arriving at a building entry to contact and communicate with District staff); or (2) to temporarily provide actively-monitored supervision of a room/area in a District building in a manner that is consistent with building-based operational procedures and that is announced or otherwise reasonably identified to the individuals being supervised (e.g., school office staff activating audio supervision of a classroom while the teacher temporarily steps out). 
• The Executive Director of Operations shall periodically review the placement and use of District-controlled electronic monitoring equipment that is currently in use and shall approve the placement and planned use of any newly added equipment. No employee or agent of the District may unilaterally place/install electronic monitoring equipment on or in any District property without appropriate administrative authorization and oversight. 
• If state or federal law requires posting or other form of notice as a condition to the operation of the applicable equipment in a particular setting, then the Executive Director of Operations shall be responsible for ensuring that such notice requirements have been addressed. Even when not required by law, the Executive Director of Operations may authorize, direct, or approve postings or other steps intended to inform people that their conduct may be monitored and/or recorded. 

The District does not intend to have employees or other agents who are normally and regularly assigned to directly observe and immediately assess and respond, on a real-time basis, to activity that is captured using electronic monitoring equipment. Accordingly, no person should rely on the District having real-time awareness of or being able to provide a real-time response to any incident or occurrence that might be captured by such equipment. 

Special Surveillance Operations

There may be circumstances in which the District has an interest in conducting or enabling surveillance or monitoring that involves the placement and use of electronic monitoring equipment on a special and limited basis, such as in connection with the investigation of reported, alleged, or suspected misconduct or a particular safety or security concern. Any request or proposal to use any electronic monitoring equipment for such a limited, specific-purpose operation shall be presented to the District Administrator or Board of Education in advance. Acting in consultation with law enforcement and District legal counsel as needed, the District Administrator or Board may authorize (or prohibit) a special-purpose operation. 

Audiovisual Recordings of the Interior of Vehicles Used for Student Transportation

1. School Buses:

The Board expressly authorizes the lawful use of electronic monitoring equipment that creates audiovisual recordings of the interior of any school buses owned, leased/rented, borrowed, or contracted by the District. Depending on the equipment that is available and any situation-specific legal restrictions, such authorized recording may include the recording of video, audio, or both. As to any such recordings that are made while a school bus is being used, under District direction and oversight (including by a contracted arrangement), to transport students to and from school or to or from any school-sponsored activities, the recordings are subject to the notice, use, and confidentiality restrictions identified in section 347.446 of the state statutes and to all other applicable laws. 

2. Non-School Bus Vehicles Used as an Alternative Method of Student Transportation:

The placement and use of any electronic monitoring equipment on the interior of non-school bus vehicles that are being used by or under the direction and oversight of the District (including by a contracted arrangement) as an alternative method of student transportation pursuant to section 121.555 of the state statutes are subject to all applicable requirements of this Policy. For example, as further addressed in a separate section of this Policy, any audio recording functions/capabilities of electronic monitoring equipment that might be available for general surveillance/monitoring purposes within such vehicles must be disabled unless the Board or District Administrator has granted express authorization for the use of audio recording in the specific context. 

3. Service by Chartered Motor Bus, Common Carrier, or Taxi:

To the extent the District arranges to provide student transportation for a co-curricular or extracurricular activity using a chartered motor bus that is not a school bus, any use of audiovisual recording equipment that is located on or in the motor bus shall occur pursuant to the policies and procedures and at the discretion and control of the charter carrier unless a District contract with the charter carrier provides otherwise. This paragraph shall also be applied to any student transportation that the District may arrange by common carrier or by a licensed taxi service. 

1. The terms and conditions of the use of any audiovisual recording equipment on a school bus or any non-school bus vehicle used as an alternative method of student transportation under section 121.555 that is owned and operated by a contracted, non-employee provider of student transportation services shall normally be addressed in the relevant contract or in an addendum thereto. However, to the extent not in conflict with or if not otherwise addressed in the relevant contract for transportation services, the Executive Director of Operations may approve the contractor’s operation of such equipment in contracted vehicles on behalf of the District in a manner that is consistent with this Policy and with applicable legal requirements, including any applicable restrictions regarding the use and retention of any such recordings. Further, except as otherwise expressly addressed in a relevant contract, a contractor may operate optional equipment that monitors the exterior of a vehicle for safety and related purposes at the contractor’s own discretion. 
2. By addressing and, in some contexts, granting express policy-based authorization for certain audiovisual recording to occur in the interior on school buses and/or other vehicles used for student transportation, the Board is neither requiring the use of such surveillance and monitoring practices nor requiring that the use or non-use of such practices must be uniform with respect to all applicable vehicles and specific vehicle uses. 
3. This section of this Policy is not intended and shall not be applied to prohibit the lawful use of electronic monitoring equipment in connection with any vehicles, any specific vehicle uses, or specific equipment or equipment uses that are not expressly addressed in this section. The other, more general sections of this Policy apply to any such other use of electronic monitoring equipment related to vehicles that are subject to the District’s policy authority and oversight. 

Access to Records and Records Management

The District Administrator or his/her administrative-level designee shall establish protocols for the proper retention of audiovisual media and other data that is captured by or from District-controlled electronic monitoring equipment for possible future access and review. The protocols shall be consistent with the District’s records retention obligations, including any formally adopted retention schedules that the District has adopted. Retention protocols shall account for audiovisual media and other data that has been accessed or reviewed for a specific purpose (e.g., to evaluate an incident) or that becomes subject to a litigation hold, specific records request, subpoena, or similar situation. Until such media or other data is deleted or purged at an appropriate time, the District shall maintain at least one copy that remains unaltered and unedited. 

The Executive Director of Operations shall be the primary individuals who have authority to access and view audiovisual media and other data captured by the District’s surveillance/electronic monitoring equipment. These primary authorized individuals may approve other staff members or persons who are performing an institutional function on behalf of the District to access/view such media, with any restrictions/limitations that are appropriate to the specific circumstance. Acting in consultation with a designated legal custodian of District records, the primary individuals may also provide access to a recording or other surveillance data to law enforcement officials provided that the District official granting such access determines that the disclosure is either (1) required by law; or (2) legally permissible and in the District’s best interests. No official, employee, or agent of the District may access or view such media or other data, or grant access to another person, unless they have (1) appropriate authorization or approval, and (2) a legitimate purpose for doing so. 

All third-party requests to view, access, or obtain copies of images, video, or other media or data captured by District surveillance/electronic monitoring equipment shall be handled pursuant to applicable laws and established District procedures for responding to such requests for access to District records.

Prohibited Conduct 

Any student who takes action to disable, disrupt, block, move, or alter any electronic monitoring equipment (including altering its viewing angle or changing its field of view) is subject to possible disciplinary action, up to and including possible expulsion.  

A District employee shall be subject to possible disciplinary action, up to and including termination, if he/she (1) without express administrative authorization, takes action to disable, disrupt, block, move, or alter any electronic monitoring equipment, or (2) uses electronic monitoring equipment, recordings, or transmissions without authorization or in a manner that is inconsistent with applicable law, this Policy, or any other Board policy or regulation. 

Policy Applicability 

This Policy addresses Board authorization and various parameters related to electronic monitoring equipment that is placed and used by officials, employees, or other authorized agents of the District primarily for purposes of safety, security, and/or accountability. This Policy does not address or cover the use of devices that capture, record, or transmit audiovisual content or other data primarily for other purposes, such as instances in which authorized employees or other agents of the District record or livestream/transmit (1) a specific District event (e.g., a fine arts performance, athletic contest, graduation ceremony, Board meeting, or other public meeting) or (2) a specific classroom activity or school activity (e.g., for an authorized educational purpose). 

Cross References:

Student Records, 347-Rule

Locker Room Privacy, 443.92

Photographing and Videotaping in the Schools, 492

 

Legal References:

Wisconsin State Statutes Subchapter II of Ch. 19, Section 118.125, 175.22, 340.01(56), 347.446, 942.08, 968.31, 995.50 

Wisconsin Administrative Code Chapter Trans 300

Federal Laws and Regulations 20 U.S.C. §1232g, 34 C.F.R. Part 99]

 

---

Adoption Date:  August 24, 2026