BILL NUMBER:A9204

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the education law, in relation to
obtaining teacher consent before videotaping

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: This bill will prohibit the videotaping
teachers unless they receive consent prior to being videotaped.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: The bill amends the education law by
adding a new section 3020-b to prohibit public, nonpublic or private
schools from videotaping teachers during regular school hours without
receiving their written consent.

JUSTIFICATION: Recently two teachers at a charter school in the City of
Albany accused the school's administration of secretly videotaping them
in the classroom. One teacher was subsequently terminated from her job
and the other teacher quit her job in protest. Though the school claims
the teachers had prior notice that they would be videotaped for "evalu-
ation" purposes, both teachers claimed they were never notified of this
evaluation practice. In one classroom the teacher claims it was her
students who noticed a hidden video camera's red blinking light and
brought it to her attention. Though videotaping may be an appropriate
method to evaluate a teacher's performance in a classroom, such vide-
otaping should not be authorized without prior knowledge and consent of
the teacher. If schools wish to videotape a teacher while they work and
instruct students they should first receive the written consent of the