Where is video surveillance allowed?
In today’s information era, privacy can be a rare commodity. Some educational spaces provide privacy protection, but others are legally open to surveillance. A rule of thumb: places that have no expectation of privacy, including hallways, gymnasiums, study halls, cafeterias and entrances, are fair game for surveillance. Gray areas include classrooms, areas that have a reasonable expectation of privacy, and offices. Here’s how they match up: • Classrooms There generally is not a problem with placing a camera in an instructional area, but it is problematic to use the footage for evaluation purposes, as cameras have a limited scope and only tell some of the story. For example, if a camera views the teacher at her desk while students are scattered around the room working together, it may look as if the teacher is not doing her job, or what may visually look chaotic may be a perfectly executed learning exercise. Therefore, it is not an adequate tool for evaluating performance. Surveillance
