Question:
Mr Kirschenbaum,here is the scenario. Private Nursery School in NY. Can the school installthe cameras inside the classroom, without parental consent, to monitor theclassroom, to provide for the safety and security of the children.Video is not to be broadcasted, and will be monitored only at the receptiondesk. Is there any legal issues on expectation of privacy inside theclassroom?Thanks.Richard Martinez
Answer:
Statutes governing video may vary from state to state, and anyone withinformation in their state should send me the information for circulation.I do not believe that their is any expectation of privacy in a classroom,and I do not believe that parental consent is necessary.
Audio is not permitted without the consent of at least one of theparticipants and in some states, both participants.
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Below Jerry raises an interesting issue, providing parents internet accessto the classroom. Of course the school administration would have toconsent. It seems to me that this type of access is not sufficientlysecure, and since there will be children [or whoever you are monitoring]who haven't consented, that type of monitoring raises concerns of potentialliability. I don't think it's a good idea unless the access if completelysecure, and even then I think access should probably be monitored, not justthose in front of the cameras.I happen to think that central station video monitoring is going to becomemuch more popular, and more available, then it is now. The CCTV salescontract I offer is designed for central station video monitoring and datastorage and retrieval.
DAY CARE VIDEO:
On the subject of video in the classroom. We receive requests for theparents to be able to log in from work over the Internet at day carecenters and never gave it much thought about anyone's permission beyond theowner of the day care center. However, we did think past it a bit more,since this should be passcode protected "per remote user" we have not foundany simple equipment to address this worth the bother for the order andsuggest they seek a video conferencing company or people who host a liveaccess controlled video sight (if you know what I mean..)The only point is, if your client is to broadcast it too over the internet,the purchaser of the system is best advised that they have the fullresponsibility of administration of each accessible parental user, theremoval after a court order restricting access to a child, divorce, orexpired former customer and as with any internet application, they may besubject to security risks. In the real world, I think people get sloppy insuch administration. We see sloppy management in access control systemsallot after two decades of doing this.Personally, I would not want anyone looking in at my kid and I think theidea is inviting trouble.
JR
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Ken,
My Company, Montgomery-Ames Associates is finishing up the largestfederally funded camera project for 2005 in the 100m Lawrence High Schoolproject.My colleagues in the security world advised and obtained security fundingto place a camera based facial recognition system into Logan airport in2000 with the faces of several known operatives provided by foreignintelligence services. In other words 911 would have been averted if thesemeasures and several other apprehension plans had been implemented for apermanent solution.A person's child is the most important thing in their life. The ability tosee the child is reassuring for the parents who both have to work today.Teachers can have privacy in the teachers room as consulting adults haveprivacy at home. The cameras provide reassurance to all that their childrenare being protected by surveillance .The IP addressable DVR's from Crest Electronics can be password protectedon a semester basis with a new password and local recordings can bereviewed if any one suspicious is identified in the area. Also check out ofthe children by a particular parent can be authenticated for protection ofthe daycare center.Thank you for your interest
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This goes well beyond the liability. It also affects our economy. People at work should do their job- not browsing the Internet. Ask them if they would pay you by the hourwhen you work in their house installing security system while you browsethe 'net or goof of.Dusan