Texas SB 507, Mandating Cameras in Special Education Classrooms
Texas SB 507, mandating cameras in special education classrooms, was signed into law on June 19, 2015 and takes effect at the beginning of the 2015–2016 school year.
Key points of the bill include:
- It applies to all school districts and open enrollment charter schools.
- Requires each school district or charter school campus to provide video cameras to cover every part of each special education setting where the majority of the students are in special education and assigned to a special education classroom for 50% of the day.
- Sets rules as to who gets access to the footage and in which circumstances it would be accessed.
- Requires schools to provide written notification of camera placement to parents of students receiving special education services.
This legislation mandates cameras in special education settings. As electronic recording of everyday activities increases due to increased adaption of technology, recording of teachers and students is inevitable. However, it is also a significant consideration for special education staff as every action they take in the classroom will be recorded.
If crisis incidents occur, investigators will be able to determine if teachers followed proper procedure. Thus, having special education staff trained in the best practices of crisis prevention is essential to ensure staff handled situations correctly and to prevent such incidents from escalating into problems for the staff and school.
CPI Training Can Help You Comply
Schools throughout the US use our Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® training program because it focuses on prevention, de-escalation techniques, and other alternatives to restraint. Our training helps staff identify underlying causes of student behaviors, and how staff and student behaviors affect each other. The program also emphasizes:
- Evaluating risk of harm and signs of distress
- Documenting incidents
- Safer, less restrictive holding skills to be used only as a last resort
- Debriefing strategies to help prevent incidents from recurring
More Resources
Get helpful hints for crisis intervention and learn about CPI training and restraint reduction.