Findlay police get access to schools' security cameras

The Findlay Police Department will soon be able to directly access city school district security cameras to view both recorded and real-time video. Findlay school board voted unanimously during its regular session Monday to grant police access to the security cameras. Board President Matt Cooper said he knows the police department has been trying to gain access to the cameras "for some time," and that he trusts the access will be handled professionally. "I'd trust them with my life," Cooper said. Under the agreement, the police department will be permitted to monitor the exterior of Findlay's school buildings, including real-time footage and video recordings, at any time. Access to interior cameras, however, will only be permitted in the case of a threat or a call for help. Martin White, the district's chief information officer, said if the district has the cameras, it should use them, although he hopes it's never necessary. He said the agreement was written by the district's attorneys. White said the "technology is easy," but the rules are more complicated. The agreement specifically addresses the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and outlines precautions to protect student privacy. White said federal law is very specific on the use of security cameras in a school setting. He said police access is allowable under the "health and safety" provisions. The agreement asks that credentials to access the cameras be shared with the fewest police department employees as possible, and that internal cameras only be accessible from the department's dispatch center or the mobile command center. He said cameras that provide a 360-degree view of the student parking lot at Findlay High School are set to be installed soon. It will be up to the police department to decide when access to the internal cameras is warranted "to assist in thwarting" a significant threat, he said. Health or safety emergencies are defined in the agreement in a "non-exhaustive" list as including active shooter, bomb threats or "any other immediate threat to life, limb or safety of the building occupants." The agreement also states the internal security camera's real-time footage and video recordings are not to be used for law enforcement purposes, except during an emergency. Dissemination of real-time footage or video recordings from the security cameras is also prohibited under the agreement — however, the district superintendent can approve their release. Martin said the agreement also states the school district is in "no way" waving the constitutional rights of its employees or students that guard against unreasonable search and seizure. In other business Monday, the school board agreed to relax credentials for substitute teachers again in an effort to recruit more help. Ohio schools will be allowed to hire individuals to work as substitute teachers without a post-secondary degree through the 2023-24 school year. Candidates must meet education requirements set by the school district, be deemed of good moral character and complete a criminal background check. A similar rule helped the district during the 2020-21 school year with a shortage of substitute workers, driven mostly by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and again in 2021-22 as the shortage persisted. Grant: 419-427-8412