Cobb County School District (District) employees and students are subject to being recorded, audio and/or visual, in a variety educational settings.

RULE:

All possible issues regarding recordings cannot be contemplated within this Rule; therefore, individuals with specific or unique questions regarding recordings should direct their inquiries to the District Communications Office.

A. GENERAL GUIDELINES REGARDING USE AND MAINTENANCE OF AUDIO/VISUAL RECORDINGS:
    1. Recordings available to the District, whether or not created by the District, may be
        offered as evidence in disciplinary or other hearings.
    2. As with any education record, visual or audio recordings maintained by the District
        that contain students’ personally identifiable information which has not been
        designated as directory information may not be released except in compliance with
        the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (See the “J” Section
        Administrative Rule on Student Records).
    3. Form CFIA-1 will be utilized when prior written permission is required for a student to
       appear in a visual recording.
    4. In the event a law enforcement agency other than CCSD Public Safety is involved in
        an incident and representatives of that agency request the recording, the District will
        comply with FERPA in the release of that recording.
    5. If criminal charges are filed in regard to a recorded incident and the recording is
        criminal evidence, CCSD Public Safety personnel will take possession of the recording
        and maintain a copy of the recording.
    6. If both student/employee disciplinary action and criminal charges are involved, CCSD
        Public Safety will maintain the recording. A District subpoena may be issued for the
        recording at a party’s request if it is needed as evidence in a District disciplinary
        hearing. If the school possesses a copy for use in a hearing, the school will destroy
        its duplicate once the hearing is over. The copy held by Public Safety will be the file
        copy. For recordings relating to employee or student discipline, a note will be placed
        in a student’s or employee’s file that the recording is available from CCSD Public
        Safety.
    7. Recordings used by the school to make disciplinary decisions shall be retained as part
        of the student’s education record by the school in the student’s discipline file, unless
        CCSD Public Safety takes possession of the recording.
    8. Recordings that relate to employee issues will be maintained by the Principal unless
       Human Resources or CCSD Public Safety takes possession of the recording.

B. PARENT/GUARDIAN CONFERENCES:
    1. Audio recording:
       a. Audio recordings may be made of school conferences with parents/guardians. All
          parties should be notified prior to the beginning of the conference that the
          recording is being made, allowing the other party the opportunity to also record.
       b. If a parent/guardian or a representative of the parent/guardian indicates they will
          make an audio recording of the conference, the District’s representative shall also
          make an audio recording of the proceedings and maintain this recording in the
          student’s file.
    2. Visual recording of parent/guardian conferences by any party is prohibited.

C. SCHOOL/DISTRICT SITE SURVEILLANCE RECORDINGS:
The school’s Campus Officer and the Director of Public Safety or his/her designee are the only individuals authorized to make copies of school/District surveillance recordings.

D. BUS SURVEILLANCE RECORDINGS:
    1. The bus driver will record over recordings made by bus cameras unless the recording
        is needed for disciplinary, employee performance, or other bus events or issues.
    2. Recordings of disciplinary issues shall be given to the principal or designee, unless
       they are removed at the site of an event by an outside law enforcement agency or
       requested by CCSD Public Safety.
    3. Recordings of employee performance and/or liability issues will be given to the
        Director of Transportation or designee unless they are removed at the site of an
        event by an outside law enforcement agency or requested by CCSD Public Safety.

E. SEIZURE OF PRIVATE DEVICES:
Recordings made by devices, including video phones, that are the personal property of staff or students may be subject to seizure as evidence by law enforcement, including CCSD Public Safety. Such seizure may result in the staff member or student losing possession of the evidence until the legal proceedings are complete. The CCSD Office of Public Safety will assist the staff or student to retrieve personnel property at the earliest possible time.

F. PARENT VIEWING:
    1. A parent of a student involved in any prohibited conduct may view or listen to the 
        recording if the parents/guardians of any additional students involved in the
        prohibited conduct provides written consent.
    2. The parent will view or hear the recording in a private setting and in the presence of
        the principal or designee.

G. CLASSROOM RECORDINGS:
    1. No recordings will be permitted in classrooms during the school day, including non-
        traditional classrooms such as the gym and/or playground, unless they receive prior
        approval of the Principal and are:
        a. An element of the teacher’s instructional plan and strategies.
        b. Recordings by District personnel used for District diagnostic purposes.
        c. Part of a research project that has received prior approval of the District and
            Principal. No recordings will be permitted for research projects that are not being
            conducted by District employees unless an exception to this prohibition is granted
            by the District Accountability Office.
        d. Recording a lesson for District professional development purposes either for the
            individual teacher being recorded or to be shared with other educators as Master
            Lessons.
        e. Recordings to be utilized in the evaluation of an employee’s performance.
        f. A public performance; or
        g. A required 504/IDEA student accommodation.
    2. Recordings of classroom activities that are not classified as public performances and
        that are intended for use outside the bounds of the District may be made only with
        the written permission of the parents/guardians of the students in the class or the
        actual student if he/she is over 18. If a child’s parent/guardian/student over 18 does
        not provide the written permission, the recording may not occur. A student should
        not be removed from the academic environment if he/she or his/her parent/guardian
        refuses to consent to his/her participation in a classroom recording.
    3. Care should be taken to remove personally identifiable information from the recorded
        area, including peripheral items such as names on a bulletin board or a student’s
        picture.

H. PUBLIC PERFORMANCES:
    1. Students participating in public performances may be recorded by a variety of entities
        including but not limited to news agencies, vendors with whom the school or a
        school support organization has contracted, and members of the public in attendance
        at the event.
    2. The recording of public extra-curricular events by members of the public is generally
        acceptable. In those cases when the District is utilizing copyrighted performance
        pieces:
        a. The staff member (Director) in charge of the event is responsible for obtaining
            permission from the copyright holder and ensuring that the District’s use meets all
            conditions of the copyright holder’s permission to use the material.
        b. If the copyright holder’s permission prohibits audio or visual recordings of the
            performance, the Director is to announce and post the statement that no
            photography, audio recording, or visual recording is allowed. This announcement
            may be printed in the performance’s program in lieu of posting.
        c. If the Director has contracted with an outside vendor to record an event, either by
            visual or audio means, it is the Director’s responsibility to confirm that all
            necessary copyright permissions for this recording have been secured.
        d. If the Director has given permission to a school support organization to record an
            event, either video or audio, it is the Director’s responsibility to confirm that
            he/she has secured all necessary copyright permissions for this recording.

I. ADVERTISEMENTS AND COMMERCIALS:
    1. Advertisements featuring students in school uniforms are appropriate for publication
        in school flyers, school newspapers and other school publications. The advertiser
        must have prior parent/guardian/student over 18 permission. Such advertisements
        must comply with Administrative Rule KH (Solicitation and Advertising on School
        Property).
    2. Requests to use school facilities or grounds for the filming of commercials must
        comply with the Administrative Rule KF (Use of School Facilities). Peripheral,
        personally identifiable student information, including student names and pictures that
        appear in the classroom, may not appear in the recording.

J. SCHOOL MEDIA PRODUCTIONS AND BROADCASTS:
    1. Schools must obtain written parent permission (Form CFIA-1) for students appearing
        in recordings made for school media productions or broadcasts.
    2. Permission is not needed for students who appear peripherally and briefly in these
        recordings, such as crowded hallways and lunchrooms, performing day-to-day
        activities.

Adopted: 7/28/05