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Frederick County Public Schools putting cameras inside some classrooms
You'll already find cameras in many school hallways and on school buses. Now, though, Frederick County Public Schools is putting them inside some classrooms.
FREDERICK COUNTY, Md. - You'll already find cameras in many school hallways and on school buses. Now, though, Frederick County Public Schools is putting them inside some classrooms.
What we know:
It’s part of a pilot program that was announced this week.
Officials said the cameras will be in "specialized program classrooms" at three schools: Oakdale Middle School, Middletown Primary School, and Catoctin High School.
The locations were selected "based on program locations that serve some of FCPS’s most vulnerable learners, including students with complex communication needs, language-based disabilities, or other disabilities that may make it more difficult for them to communicate concerns about their school experience," according to a press release.
"The purpose of the cameras is to give schools another tool, used sparingly and responsibly, to support student safety, strengthen trust with families, and to protect staff by providing clarity when concerns do arise," FCPS Associate Superintendent of Public Affairs Dr. Eric Louers-Phillips told Fox 5.
The cameras will only record video, not audio. Officials also said they have no immediate plans to install the cameras district-wide.
"It’s about support, and it’s not about scrutiny," Louers-Phillips said.
What they're saying:
FOX 5 spoke with an FCPS parent as well as a community member near Oakdale Middle Thursday night.
"I was curious," parent Feby Emelio said of her reaction to learning of the program via an email from FCPS. "I was just left with a lot of questions. Just wondering, how are they managing safety with these limited cameras and observations, and who watches them?"
Meanwhile, Tracy McWilliams, who lives in Frederick County, said he was initially skeptical of the pilot.
"Cameras in schools is always, you know, it’s always kind of dicey, I think. Just because of privacy concerns with children," McWilliams told Fox 5. He added, "as long as they’ve been in touch with the parents and the parents are fine with it, then that’s good."
What's next:
The pilot program is being funded through a grant. It’s expected to run from January 20 through the end of the school year.