The Lyon County (Nev.) school board has voted to put video cameras in every classroom in the district.
KRNV-TV reports that cameras will be installed at all 17 schools in the district by the end of the year. The new technology will cost about $2.5 million to install. Lyon County has about 8,100 students.
No specific event prompted Lyon County to enhance its security with the video system, the district's web site says.
"Be it a medical emergency, an escalated situation, or a threatening individual, this system will allow for efficient response from the appropriate personnel," the district says.
Superintendent Wayne Workman says the system has an the audio function that "amplifies the voice of the teacher in the classroom so that all students will be able to hear the teacher's instruction at any given time in the classroom."
Along with a microphone, teachers will be expected to wear a necklace remote control that can trigger a silent alarm in case of an emergency. The classroom camera will immediately begin to record what is occurring in the classroom and send a live feed of that to an administrator. The administrator will decide whether it's appropriate to call emergency responders to the school.
Workman says the district plans to use the cameras only in emergencies.
"Parents will not have access," the district's web site states. "Please note, there will be no live feed from these cameras in the classroom. The cameras will only record when initiated by the teacher's silent alarm in case of emergency."
The district also emphasizes that any video recording in an academic setting creates an academic record and is protected under the Family Educational Right to Privacy Act (FERPA); access to any videos recorded in emergencies would be limited to educational personnel designated as needing access.
Video from KRNV-TV:
