Iowa School District Adopts Body Cameras for Principals
An Iowa school district is outfitting its principals and assistant principals with small, clip-on video cameras.
Burlington Community School District in southeastern Iowa is taking the unusual step of recording parent and student interactions with administrators — a move district officials say will protect both sides, reported the Des Moines Register.
The 4,300-student district along the eastern Iowa border is thought to be among the first in the nation to outfit administrators at each of the district's eight school buildings with a body camera, the report said.
"It's personal accountability," Superintendent Pat Coen told The Des Moines Register. "Did we treat this person with dignity, honor and respect? And if we didn't, why didn't we?"
In addition, cameras on school buses will record student passengers and the driver, as well as other drivers on the road.
The district spent about $1,100 to purchase 13 cameras at about $85 each, the article said. They record with a date and time stamp, can be clipped onto ties or lanyards, and can be turned on and off as needed.
At the end of each day, principals will be responsible for uploading the recordings, and reviewing and distributing the videos when questions arise.
The district also is developing policy related to their use, and updating a notification in the school handbook, which already alerts students, parents and staff that cameras are used in buildings and school buses, the Register said.
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