Episode Details

Show Notes

• News Item:

  • Florida representative from Naples, FL files HB 1055, which would require schools to consider and vote on a plan to install cameras at the front of every classroom
  • Any installed system would have the ability to record audio and video throughout the classroom, except any area in which children might change clothing.
  • Schools would be required to maintain video archives for at least three months, after which the video could be destroyed unless a request to review was made, or other legal proceeding.
  • Schools would required to blur the faces of any children not part of an "incident" under investigation.
  • Video may not be used to evaluate teachers
  • No provision for funding

• Motivations for Camera Proposals

  • Student Safety
  • Teacher Safety
  • Parental Surveillance of Teaching Methods and Curricula
  • Teacher Evaluations

• Potential Downsides

  • Financial and Logistical

    • Installation of Surveillance Systems Can Be Expensive
    • Video Storage Requirements Can Be Large

  • Legal

    • New duty of care for schools

      • Was video system properly installed?
      • Was video properly archived?
      • If system was not running, why not?

    • Possible evidence in myriad proceedings

    • Further temptation for obstruction of justice and spoliation

  • Privacy

    • Once Data Has Been Collected, It Is Very Difficult to Limit Its Use and Misuse
    • We Should Always Be Reluctant to Collect Data in the First Place
    • Will video be used to evaluate which students are friends or dislike each other?
    • Will cameras be powerful enough to read papers, notes, passwords being entered into devices, etc.
    • Risk of voyeuristic misuse

  • Mission Creep

    • Use of video to evaluate teachers
    • Will Students Be Graded on Attentiveness?
    • Anti-cheating tool?

  • Broader social issues

    • Trust in teachers and the educational system
    • Over-empowering small but highly vocal groups within the community
    • Furthering the culture of surveillance
    • Training children to accept surveillance as a constant fact of life (corporatist approach)

  • Has Dystopia Already Arrived?

    • Extensive surveillance already in schools (but typically not in classrooms)
    • Classrooms are already filled with potential "surveillance" cameras
    • Remote instruction has emboldened some parents

• Resources

  • Florida HB 1055
    https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2022/1055/BillText/Filed/PDF
  • #2021-12-30 Proposal Would Lead to Surveillance Cameras in Every Classroom, and Teachers to Wear Microphones
    https://flaglerlive.com/171423/florida-gop-bill-cameras/
  • #2021-07-20 The Absurd Proposal to Put Bodycams on Teachers Is ... Feasible?
    https://www.wired.com/story/the-absurd-proposal-to-put-bodycams-on-teachers-is-feasible/
  • #2021-07-08 Tech Companies Are Already Building Tucker Carlson’s School Surveillance Fever Dream
    https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvzyaa/tech-companies-are-already-building-tucker-carlsons-school-surveillance-fever-dream
  • #2021-07-08 Tucker Carlson calls for teachers to wear body cameras to prevent critical race theory teaching
    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/tucker-carlson-teachers-race-theory-b1879886.html
  • #2021-06-11 ‘Watchdog’ group wants teachers to wear bodycams to assure they don’t teach Critical Race Theory in Nevada district
    https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-bodycam-school-teachers-critical-race-theory-nevada-20210611-3zqbbhzmprbqxpbwk6mbsjjxvy-story.html
  • #2021-06-11 Nevada group is pushing for teacher BODY CAMERAS to make sure they're not teaching students critical race theory
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9677295/Nevada-group-wants-teachers-wear-body-cameras-stop-CRT.html
  • #2017-02-09 I would never wear a body camera while teaching in school. Here’s why
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/09/never-wear-body-camera-in-school-teaching
  • #2017-02-08 Should schools give teachers body cams?
    https://nypost.com/2017/02/08/should-schools-give-teachers-body-cams/
  • [n.d.] Calla Body Worn Cameras
    https://www.calla.co/