Hope Church & Hope Christian Academy Video and Audio Surveillance Policy and Procedures

Use of Video and Audio Monitoring  

Hope Church and Hope Christian Academy (henceforth referred to as the Church and  the School, respectively) recognize that maintaining the safety and security of students,  staff, and property is best implemented with a multifaceted approach. To the extent  modern technology provides tools to maintain safety and security, the use of  technology such as video surveillance cameras is supported by the Board.  

Video surveillance may be utilized in and around the School and on Church property.  Cameras may be equipped with audio recording capabilities as well. Video surveillance  shall be in accordance with applicable laws pertaining to such use. Hope Christian  Academy also shall comply with applicable law related to maintaining video recordings.

Exclusions  

Video and Audio monitoring is not permitted in areas where there is a reasonable  expectation of privacy such as bathrooms. Recording of teacher instruction for  purposes of completing a licensed personnel performance evaluation is not intended to  be covered by this policy and shall not be permitted except as provided by state law.  Recording of students for purposes of their educational programming is also not  intended to be covered by this policy.

November 1, 2023

LEGAL REFS.:

20 U.S.C. §1232g (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974)

34 C.F.R. §99.1 et seq. (FERPA regulations)

Use of Video and Audio Monitoring  

Placement and notification  

1. Video/Audio surveillance equipment may be installed in and around the School  buildings and School transportation vehicles where there is a legitimate need  for video surveillance, as approved by the Church and School.

2. Video/Audio surveillance equipment will not be used or installed in areas where the public, students and/or staff have a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as locker rooms and restrooms.

3. Video/Audio surveillance equipment may be in operation 24 hours per day on a year round basis at any and all times, whether or not school is in session and whether or not the facilities or buildings are in use.

4. Video monitors shall not be located in an area that enables public viewing.

5. Conduct and comments in publicly accessible places on Church and School property (e.g. school hallways, cafeterias, libraries, customer service contact  points, buses, athletic facilities, etc.) may be recorded by video and audio  devices.

6. The School shall notify students, staff, and the public that Video/Audio surveillance systems are present. Such notification will be included in signs that  will be prominently displayed at the main entrances to the buildings.

Use  

1. The use of video surveillance equipment on school grounds and  school transportation vehicles shall be supervised and controlled by Hope Church Staff.

2. Staff and students are prohibited from unauthorized use, tampering with or otherwise interfering with video recordings and/or video camera equipment. Violations will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action. Disciplinary action shall be consistent with applicable policies and regulations and may include, but not be limited to, written reprimand, suspension, demotion or dismissal for staff and suspension and/or expulsion for students, depending upon the nature and severity of the situation.

3. Hope Church Staff will review the use and operations of the video surveillance system on a periodic basis.

4. Video recordings may be used as evidence that a student, staff member, or other person has engaged in behavior that violates state law, Hope Church policies, and/or the School rules.

Storage/security  

1. The School shall provide reasonable safeguards including, but not limited to password protection, firewalls, and locked server boxes to protect the video/audio  surveillance system from hackers, unauthorized users, and unauthorized use.

2. Video/audio recordings will be stored until the recorder is full, at which time the  oldest recordings will be overwritten.

3. Video/Audio recordings held for review will be maintained in their original form pending resolution of the incident. Recording media will then be released for erasure, copied for authorized law enforcement agencies, or retained in accordance with applicable law and School policy.

4. To ensure confidentiality, all video storage devices that are not in use will be stored securely in the Hope Church office or erased. All storage devices that have  been used will be numbered and dated. Access to the storage devices will be  limited to authorized personnel.

5. Video/audio recordings held by the Church as student records and/or personnel  records shall be maintained in accordance with applicable law and School policy.

Viewing requests  

Requests for review of video recordings that are considered a student record or  personnel record will be as follows:

1. All viewing requests must be submitted in writing. Requests for viewing will be limited to those parents/guardians, students, and/or staff with a direct interest in  the recording as authorized by Hope Church Staff. Only the portion of the  recording concerning the specific incident at issue will be made available for  viewing upon approval.

2. Requests for viewing may be made to Hope Church Staff within 6 school days of  the date of recording.

3. Approval or denial for viewing will be made within 1 school day of confirmed  receipt of the request and so communicated to the requesting individual.

4. Recordings will be made available for viewing within 1 school days of the approval of the request.

5. Actual viewing by 3rd parties such as parents and students will be permitted only at Hope Church Offices unless otherwise required by law.

6. All viewing will include the School Principal, a member of the Hope Church Staff, and/or designee.

7. To the extent required by law, a written log will be maintained of those viewing video recordings including the date and location of viewing, reasons for viewing, date the recording was made, and the viewer’s signature.

8. Recordings will remain the property of the Church and may be reproduced only  in accordance with applicable law and Church policy.