001this pretty speedy at policy. Oh, there we go. We are live on our YouTube feed. We are live in our webinar. Mr. Casser, the meeting is yours. Thank you, Mr. Gilmer. Uh, this will we will now call to order the April 2025 safe schools uh committee meeting. As always, we'll begin with the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Okay, we have a uh two items that areformational uh today. We'll begin with the minutes. Um, and this this is for a motion for approval of minutes from March 24th, 2025's committee. So moved. Second. Are there any comments or questions? Uh, any objections? And I believe the motion passes
002under new Robert's rules for minutes. We don't need to vote on that. But just to be safe, someone can correct me. All in favor say I. I. or raise your hand. We'll have to get some clarity on that, but I I believe that's the new Robert's rules. Uh we have no items on the agenda for action. We will move to um item B, the bus patrol update. Um just use a chair's discretion to move that agenda item and then we'll have camera surveillance discussion. So, Mr. Ran, the floor is yours. Thank you, Chair Casa. Good evening, safe schools committee, members of the community. I want to take this opportunity to uh give an update on the March bus patrol numbers. Uh and so next slide, Mr. Gilmer. Uh as you can see, there were a
003total of 840 violations that came through the system from March 1st to March 31st. um that is staying pretty consistent with the numbers we have been seeing um throughout the course. Uh some of you may remember when we reported we talked a little bit about the very first month I believe the number was around 500 and something and it has uh climbed up and kind of been steady in this this 7 to 800 range. Uh next slide Mr. Gilmer. Uh in this slide you'll see the number of violations that are approved. Uh and so you can see of the 840 total uh violations uh 657 of them were approved and 830 I'm sorry 183 of them uh were not approved. And so uh there could be a number of reasons why 183 of them were
004not approved. that could range from um it did not meet the standard of the vehicle code. Um it was um maybe a little too close to call uh for the officer that is approving the violations to feel confident uh that it in fact was a violation. Um so that's there are a number of kind of reasons why um some of those would not be approved. So uh of the 840 657 of them are approved. Next slide. Uh here is gives you a an idea of where the majority of these violations are occurring in our district. Uh so if you look here we have a pretty good number that are occurring in the 100 block of uh 309. Uh coming in second is Swedes for rune and then the 900 block of 463. Uh I will
005draw your attention to and a reminder uh just looking at these uh top three these sections. I believe Dr. Bowerer spoke to um folks not being aware of the divided highway um and they are thinking you know uh 309 202 uh they're just thinking well I'm on the other side of the far right lane of the double yellow I don't need to stop uh and that is truly not a divided highway. So, just for everyone's uh knowledge, a divided highway by the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code means there is actually a physical barrier dividing the highway uh not allowing uh traffic to cross. So, a solid double yellow does not constitute a divided highway. Um and I would venture to say that is the majority of these top three um for these particular sections and types of
006roads uh why we're we're seeing those numbers uh so high. Uh next slide. Uh here you'll see uh e the day of the week and the AM or PM run. Um and so you can see in March uh Tuesday seemed to be uh the peak day uh where uh a good portion of violations or the most violations occurred. Uh and also the PM bus route um is accounting for 49% or 313 of those violations. Um, so, uh, this data really shows us, uh, the day of the week, the time of the day, where the violations seem to be occurring. Um, and I would say it's it's pretty consistent, uh, across the board, uh, at least on the PM uh, where where the uh the the majority of those infractions are occurring. Uh, and so that
007brings us to our next slide. Uh, Mr. Governor, any questions or or comments or concerns regarding the data uh and and what we just uh went through? Miss Ruben. And uh Mr. Kasa, do you have a question for us? Yep. After you. All right. Um so, thank you, Mr. Rome, for that. I am I was going to say I'm curious and then that's an actual I I I have a question uh with regards to that was May that was March data right um is is January and February a similar trend with regards to day of the week and time of day. Yes. So, the day of the week fluctuates a little bit, but the PM runs, the PM runs seem to be the consistent. Um, which is actually a little bit of a flip from
008the beginning. Uh, in the beginning, we were seeing the AM uh runs. Uh, but lately it's it's been the PM runs. Okay. Yeah. If I was trying to problem solve this, I would probably have more questions, but I'm not going to do that. Um so given the data that we have, if our goal is more safety, less tickets, does that mean that we then place more presence uh physical police presence if if the townships etc would support that at those times and days? So, I I will say um all six of our municipalities um typically run a u traffic enforcement um during uh the AM and and PM. So, like get the travel time getting to school and right up through the school zone time and then certainly the the beginning of after school and
009you know through the that school zone time as well. Um so uh I I will say that that that is happening uh across the board um in all six municipalities. Um you know some of our departments have traffic safety units. That's that's their um I'll say their primary job outside of uh you know being available for for regular 911 calls. Um and so that that that enforcement and and education piece is happening. I will also uh share that um some of our municipalities are sharing some of these egregious violations to help educate um folks so that they are aware. Right. So there is there is a a partnership um in in getting information out there so that folks are aware. Yeah. I my last no it's not going to be my last comment but another
010comment maybe question is to be more specific is it uh are they putting um extra resources not at the schools during you know um early and and closing times but at those top three locations that you mentioned on Tuesdays and and um PM And do Yes. So I I I I don't know specifically if they are. I can tell you I do share the data. Um so and and the you know the police departments, you know, they know because they're the ones approving the violations, so they know where they're happening. Um so they're they're really getting it twice. They get the collective data at the end of the month that I share with them, but then they also have it as they're approving violations, they know where those violations are occurring and where they're approving
011for. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I mean I would think that for them the next step is you know again to then put more resources at those days and times um again since our goal is to prevent uh an event from occurring. Um and you know I'm sure the community knows that our goal is not to issue more tickets right it's supposed to be a deterrent. Our goal here is ultimate goal is to prevent um any unsafe acts and and uh god forbid a worst scenario. All right, great. Thank you very much. You're welcome. And I'll just reiterate that that a good majority of our municipalities are using their social media platforms for education. Yeah. Yeah. I've seen it on Montgomery Township. It's been good. Thanks. We we saw some uh they really got some traction. And
012I know the Facebook videos, Hatfield, McGomery Township. Um I know one area near the mall on Decal Pike, uh the township put up some signage actually to educate drivers. So u if if it's possible and this because of the prevention issue, that's why people wonder why are we looking at tickets and citations, right? This is all it takes is one incident. um and learning a lot about even if it's on the other side of a highway and you would think, you know, a student is perfectly safe, they're not because if there is an accident and it's not divided, there's there's unintended consequences and cars and and uh tires and other things flying around. So, it's something that looking at these trends, they might not be going down yet, but if we're not bringing this up
013before the committee and the district administration, um it's this focus that hopefully generates some other possible solutions or we begin to see uh a reduction because prevention is the goal or deterrence. Uh, as Miss Rnick said, I'm wondering if with the possibility either from our the police and all of our jurisdictions or Mr. Ran if this is something you can get directly from bus patrol. But it's interesting because we're in an area with a lot of traffic and I just wonder the aggregate data of repeat offenders, those from, you know, within our zip code getting the tickets and those from without, I think could be helpful to see that trend line month over month. Yeah, I can I can certainly work on um gathering that information. Sorry, that's the the uh crime and incident data
014guy. um always asking for more questions. At least it wasn't to uh Dr. Nicholson this time. So um but thank you Mr. Ran. U any other questions or comments from the committee? Dr. Bower. Hey, good evening everyone. Uh thank you for that Mr. Ran and thank you everybody for your questions. I will say just to reiterate with a personal story Mr. Casa and Mr. Ran alluded to this. We actually had his bi-weekly meeting this morning and I was driving in route from North Penn High School to uh the ESC. I'm gonna say this was two weeks ago. Someone uh right there on Sony Town Pike and right near Corpus Christi and there's a development up there on your left. Uh I can't remember what it's called. It used to be called Willowick. I don't know
015if it's still called that. Um but it's on your left prior to Broad Street. Um, actually prior to Allen Town. No, Allentown doesn't cross there. Prior to Broad and I'm in the left lane of the two opposing lanes and a bus is in the far lane on the other side coming towards me. So stopping door side pickup opens the door, flashing lights and I am two lanes over, right? So, they had the bus had a lane going the same direction as the bus immediately next to it. There's a double yellow line. Then there's me and then there's a lane next to me. And I stopped, of course. However, I will say like in looking at it and eyeing it up, I was pretty far from the bus and from the bus stop. And I stopped
016and the person behind me stopped. But I'll tell you what, that lane to my right just kept going. The I mean, the lane just kept going. And they're four lanes over from the bus stop. Well, I'm I'm assuming they are all in violation and will be receiving citations. Um, and it it does seem a distance away. So, just like a personal experience in the community. Um, this was 6:45 in the morning, maybe 6:50 and right near Corpus Christi Church Parish. Um, so cars are just flying by. Um, and you, like you said, Mr. Kasa, if something happens and there's no divider there, children are still in danger. Um, so just let those articles that are written about this meeting state that you know it's if there is not a divided highway, you must stop. So
017we we appreciate that and I know that there have been articles in our region neighboring districts as well. Um I think there's an article up in the Allentown school district u this we're discovering with this technology now that it's a pervasive problem. So now we'll see what could you know if this shifts towards prevention and appreciate as always the way that the administration looks at uh data and and not just a two-dimensional or stale information. So thank you. Um, with that, we'll move on to uh item A, which was a this is a discussion really that's picked up from uh last week and prior public uh discussions, but since this falls u squarely in the purview of safe schools, uh we want to make sure uh Dr. Bower has an opportunity to address the committee
018about some uh some of the work that is ongoing and uh where that's likely to lead us. um perhaps the timelines and next steps. Thank you Dr. Ballard. Yeah, certainly. Um so good evening everyone again and happy to speak about this topic. I did ask Mr. Summers to join us uh for this conversation just because this is definitely something um that has some legal barriers if you will and I I'm not sure that the barriers is the right word. Some may see them as barriers and some may see it as safeguards um given the nature of the conversation. But as Mr. Kasa alluded to, um we have had some public comment over the years. I wouldn't even say the last couple months, it's been years now, uh where certain members of our community have been
019advocating for cameras in classrooms. Some people advocate for cameras in classrooms at large and others more recently are advocating for cameras in classrooms. um whereas nonverbal students uh spend most of their day. So, we have cameras throughout the school district in all communal places, most hallways, if not all. Um, large spaces like gyms, auditoriums, um, you exterior cameras where kids drop off, pick up, parking lots, um, there are plenty of surveillance cameras around the school district, but we do not have cameras in academic spaces unless those spaces are you the aforementioned spaces are utilized in that way. So, for example, once in a while you have a class in the auditorium, right? There's a camera in there. Um, Mr. Summers can add some detail, but it's my understanding that cameras in schools cannot have audio
020due to the PA wiretap law and uh some of the privacy restrictions. We can have audio on buses. So, our cameras on all of our buses do have audio, but any of the classroom cameras in our schools do not. So the the history behind or the rationale behind the request is um when a student if something were to happen in school if you have a nonverbal student um who can't come home and tell their parents about what happened the parents may have questions and they are not able to communicate in a verbal way with their child to understand what may have happened in the classroom. So the people who spoke at the podium at the now I guess that was the March action meeting I believe might have been the work session um we're advocating
021that for classrooms where non-verbal students reside for most of their school day if we could have cameras in place uh that would be uh for the safety and benefit of both the students and the staff. Um and so I believe in that meeting the board implored me to meet with the parents and have conversations which I did. Um Dr. Waters, Dr. McKenna and I met with uh the parents who spoke that evening and it was a wonderful conversation. Um they advocated for uh this movement if you will and provided rationale, some research, some examples. Some legislation in some other states was discussed. It has been legislated in some states. Um I could provide some examples at a future meeting. I believe Louisiana, Texas are a couple states where it has been legislated. A few others
022and there are parameters around that legislation. It is not legislated in Pennsylvania. So we would have to kind of work through, you know, um if if we're going to move in this this direction, what would it look like? So there are obvious questions. Cost, how many classrooms are we talking? How many cameras are we talking? How much network space? How much power? How much manual labor to install? All those things. Certainly, we don't want cost to be um a limiter in us providing a safe environment for for students. So, we try to work through those challenges with cost, but it's a part of the conversation. So, Mr. drone the technology department the facilities department has been working on and provided a rough estimate on uh how many how many pieces of hardware software and all
023the components necessary to do this. They've been working in collaboration with the special education department and how many classrooms are we talking about here? How many in each building? Um so we've worked through some of the cost estimates and we've had that meeting with the parents which is very productive. We've also had a meeting with our employee groups, our teachers association and our support staff association um just to kind of you know talk through this and work together and collaborate with them on the matter as well. So we are actually having a big group meeting with some of the parents and uh the leadership of the two uh employee groups next week and we'll see how that conversation progresses and then we would ultimately really take this to Mr. summers and ultimately back to the
024board about okay if this is a direction we want to move in uh what would that look like what are the steps and some of the legal hurdles that we would have to work through um so it's been productive the process has been very organic everyone has been very collaborative and and when I say that I'm not saying everyone's gung-ho in favor um it's everyone understands both sides of the discussion some um people think there should be an expectation of privacy in a classroom. Um, not it is not common for most people to have a camera watching them work all day every day. Some people do. Um, but not everyone. And so it is definitely not normal. And quite frankly, I'm not aware of a school district in Pennsylvania that does this. That doesn't mean
025it doesn't exist. I'm not aware of one. Um, but that has never stopped us before from taking something on and giving it a try. So really want to fully understand the scope um of the ask and the process if we move in this direction. Um we have to look at hurdles like what if there's a family who says no what what does that look like? I don't want cameras in my child's classroom because we certainly have families who don't want their child photographed each year or involved in any publications or videos from the school district. Um so all things that have to be discussed and worked through but thus far we've been very productive. Um Mr. Summers, anything to add in term from a legal perspective on uh some of the things I mentioned and
026then certainly we'll field any questions and feedback you may have. Sure. just I guess um what I would say is and some of this is uh in in prior meetings months or years ago, topics that have been mentioned or um I I would say considerations, you know, hurdles, considerations, factors to be looked at um would all be kind of ways of describing it. Um, I think the the biggest um factor would be because there is no legislation in Pennsylvania that specifically talks about how this um would operate and what parameters are around it. We have to look at existing law um and consider what impact those laws might have um and you know we we don't necessarily know if there hasn't been a court case that has addressed it. So we'd be doing our best
027to sort of predict at what outcomes might happen in the event that there is a dispute. So um the you know one thing one law that comes to mind is certainly the right to know law. Um I I think everyone who has spoken about this um at public meetings or certainly from the district um there's been no one who has said you know we have a desire for these videos to be streamed publicly or for parents to you know be logging in and watching all day long or or for the district to be constantly um viewing these these videos you know that that they should be available in case something happens. s in case there's a concern, in case there's a report of something. Um, and and I guess despite those sentiments, we need to
028understand how does the right to know law uh apply to those recordings once they're made. Do they constitute a record of the district? What if we get a right to know request uh involving them? There have been a number of court cases in recent years involving right to know requests for school bus surveillance footage. Um and that those cases have gone up through appeals and there are different outcomes in some of them uh including that um in at least one case that a video from a school bus needed to be provided but the school needed to redact all of the images of the faces of the students. Well, you know, certainly if that's something that we'd have to be doing on a regular basis, there would be potentially significant cost. um you know, if if
029if the district were going to be denying those requests, you know, we could certainly have um potential litigation involving those issues, which is, you know, partly why legislation uh exempting such videos from the right to know law would would be the best outcome. Um and, you know, certainly um something that the district could advocate for. Um just in addition to the right to know law, other other laws that we'd have to you know, think about is is furpa. So the family educational rights and privacy act there is guidance and out there that um in certain circumstances recordings can become educational records of students. Um if there's a recording of an incident between students in a hallway for example and the district um pulls that video and utilizes it as part of a disciplinary process. there's
030guidance that says that that record then becomes uh a record of the students and that parents have the right to view and inspect um and obtain access to. So, you know, how how do we apply those kinds of record requests uh that parents might make to to cameras that are in the classrooms? Um certainly the the district is thinking and and looking at the the any union implications. Um is this an issue that needs to be bargained? um is is it an issue that the district can just take action on without bargaining? Um certainly there's an effort to work cooperatively and and you know try and address that obviously without any sort of dispute. Um and then just the general privacy considerations is you know our cameras they are certainly I think everyone on this
031call understands they are becoming more and more part of our everyday life. So, um, is it unusual to have a camera, uh, in in locations where they haven't necessarily been in the past? Um, what are the, you know, privacy? What kind of environment does it create? Having a camera or does it not change anything at all? So, um, you know, those are, I think, just some of the, again, considerations, not necessarily bars, but things, um, for for everyone to think about as we move forward. Okay, Mr. Casa with that um if there are any questions from the committee and of course when we are finished through this process we would certainly be happy to come give a formal presentation um but Mr. Kasa had reached out to me on Friday and kind of said, "Hey,
032could we just talk about this informally, just kind of let the community know where we are?" And, uh, so the process is ongoing and we'll be happy to report back in a more formal way come here in the near future. Thank you, uh, Miss McMerry. Thanks, Mr. Casa. Thanks for that information. Um, and I So, Mr. Summers there there was a lot of items there from a legal perspective that you just walked through. So do we need h how will we how we how will all those questions regarding different um different legal issues be uh dispositioned? Um and then is that like a separate topic that has to be resolved and first or is that come back to this committee or it seemed to be a lot and I'm not a lawyer. Sure. Um so
033I think um in fairness there are a number of issues um that that we discuss certainly but um for education in general it's in a an area where there are a lot of laws governing a lot of different aspects of our operation and um you know one of the the roles um that our office has is working on a day-to-day basis with our administrators and um board members and others on How do we comply with existing laws and achieve uh you know our objectives? And so um some of that involves um you know more um readily answerable questions where you can say there's a court case that decided this exact issue. So, we can have a high level of confidence in what the outcome of a potential issue would be because there's a a court
034case or there's a statute that the legislature passed a rule that says you can do X as long as you do Y and Z at the same time. Um if this is an area where we don't have much guidance um from you know from the state level or or or from the federal level um then we have to um you know talk through the risks u make sure everyone understands the issues that are involved and that we position oursel uh ourselves as as best we can to you know enact the program that we want to while being legally defensible. Um, and so that may mean um having the policy committee look at um how if there's anything in our policies that we would need to adjust um in order to to have this while also
035being legally defensible or administrative regulations um so that you know there are parameters that are clear. Um I I don't think it's anything different than the day-to-day conversations we have about other programs and initiatives that the district moves forward. just, you know, there are a number of items that we'll just have to make sure we've thought of and and put ourselves in the best position. Um, so those aren't necessarily conversations that are um would come before the board per se. Um, but they are are things, you know, we certainly need to think about. Okay. Thank. And can I ask another question, Mr. Kasa, please? Okay. So, Dr. Bower, it's it's me that always wants, you know, deadlines, due dates, milestones. So my question is, do you have a general idea about the time frame that
036you would be coming back to safe schools with some type of skeleton and methodology as to how you would move forward with implementation of something like this? You have thoughts on that or is that too soon? No, I don't I don't think it's too soon because I do think, you know, just with the information we provided just now um and the ongoing conversations, I think we will have the information needed to make a decision um certainly in a month. Yeah, I do. I I think we are at a place where and that might include Mr. Summers talked about, you know, uh bargained. we would know, well, this would have to be bargained or this would have to be worked out with a our policy committee, but it might make sense to bring it to full-fledged
037work session as opposed to just a safe schools committee or a policy committee because it really I mean it impacts ECI too. I was actually having the conversation maybe with you today, Kyle, or someone else that said, "Why wouldn't we talk about this at ECI?" Because it's in the classroom and it's education, right? So, there's a lot of overlap um across our subcommittees. So um I I don't think it's unreasonable to think June July I could give a public presentation about this. That's not unreasonable. Well okay. So I so if we if there was the ability to do it at June work session and I know agenda we're already discussing what are the items for different work sessions. Um, is this something that you would envision being implemented during the next school year 2526? Um,
038all right. Nuhuh. No, it's I just don't know if this when we're done this factf finding process. I don't know if the recommendation will be to move forward or not. But if I reframe the question and say if we move forward, is this something yeah we could uh pull off for the fall? I think we could certainly pilot it in a few classrooms in the fall. All right, good. Um if we're talking say 50 60 classrooms and um that might be a big lift when we already have a summer planned of projects um to get all the installation and all the necessary equipment procured and um but I do think we could start on a small scale. Yes, if that's okay. All right. I think that if that's doable, I I think that would be
039a welcomed um a welcomed act project to take on assuming with the conclusion that we want to move forward with it as you said. Thank you. Yeah, great questions. Thank you. And I I think it does echo in what you shared with other committees and that's how we've always worked, right? Sometimes uh just like uh our therapy dogs uh it may start at safe schools but it always has to end up in other areas. And so we'll make sure that this has the same type of path and it's not uh too ciruitous. Uh it's also uh I I think it's safe to say I've heard individually from uh just in in passing some um deliberately uh a desire and some board members have already expressed uh in public that if this is possible right and
040there's a pragmatic methodical way forward the board would like to see this type of um advancement and considering what's available with technology ology and the fact this has been done elsewhere even if it is in Pennsylvania then Dr. Bower. I think you know the board then is willing to hear what the options are, what is clear, where the gray areas are, and then we we can have that discussion and act accordingly. Uh even uh we've already had some discussion um you know with some local electeds uh just to make sure that they're aware of it and so we could learn as well what might what might be happening in the state house. And it is interesting uh there is some research and there are a number of states and I just wanted to reinforce this
041is not a live feed and even in states like Texas where I believe it was the first it there is is a very diligent process at least as the law is stated and there's requests then a camera may be granted and put into right it reminds me in some ways of of the the guard rails on both sides of right to know requests right for us in Pennsylvania, but there's a a process and uh an administrative uh fairness that that the law is trying to uh satisfy these competing interests. So I think with that the pilots make sense if if it begins to line up and and that that's something certainly when I had had some conversations a few times before the public comment with with the one parent um who's been very reasonable in
042leading this and I think that's the goal is for the community to innovate and lead um because safety is so important and right the ability to learn and this is one district that has been able to embrace technology but also the importance of what that means in attaining right excellence uh in the classroom. So we look forward to to hearing more about this and um you know really appreciate the fact that uh the administration picked up the interest of the board and the community and is uh responding uh you know promptly to this. So thank you. Any other comments or question? The last comments I would have Mr. Kasa just that um the legislation that you just referenced in some states talks about you know where do you draw the line where where are the
043spaces so if you think about a high school schedule student may you know with a six day uh cycle with eight periods a day um a student may have 15 classes right and so it's are we putting cameras in all 15 classes um so the legislation read that it was where any non-verbal student spends more than 50% of their day. Um and um some of the legislation said includes audio and Mr. Summers reference, you know, it would be helpful if some of the there was legislation that says that um that would give us, you know, less risk. Um and and if it helps Dr. Bower, Mr. Summers, any any of the administration, we do have contact with one of the advocates who happens to be a lawyer that helped craft uh the Texas law. So,
044that introduction I can make. Um, and also there's a a national nonprofit in education uh space for disabilities that that has a vast um vast set of of resources also. So if there's anything that we can do um happy to make those introductions just so um you have other resources you know at your disposal. Yeah I appreciate that. Um those other parameters that come to mind quickly are you know a closed loop as opposed to like you were hearing um no active surveillance. Um, so we have someone sitting at a security desk, say at the high school, where there's dozens of cameras up and someone is watching those cameras. That would not be the case in this type of situation. It's a resource that's there in the event that we need to reference it, but
045the access would be very limited. You know, maybe just directors of special education, security, meaning Mr. Ran and myself, that kind of a thing. Uh, very very limited access. And uh like uh Kyle said, I think when you talk about cameras in classrooms, some people think um like the cameras that are in some daycarees or at like um I know when my uh dog was a puppy that I could actually log in and look to see how Duke was doing. It is not that type of environment where someone could log in and look at any time during the school day. Um this is a classroom, an educational environment. It would be a closed circuit, a a resource if necessary, not like a nanny cam where you can check in on your child during the day.
046Um, so all things to be worked through. So when Mr. Summers said and MC Merry acknowledged like there's a lot that needs to be worked through, but I do think we'll be able to at least say yes, here are the things we need to work through and we believe we want to move forward with this or maybe not. So, um, I will target a June meeting to bring it forward to the whole group. I know the summer can be tough and some meetings get cancelled, but that'll be the target sometime in June. Appreciate that. And and really it's it just demonstrates those in the community who um when parents are really concerned and they bring that up that there's a response but then from all sides people are able to compromise remain civil and you
047know we'll see what consensus exists uh when we bring you know independent and objective uh variables into the conversation. So, thank you all um for helping us, you know, advance this and um if North Pen innovates, it wouldn't be the first time. Um and I I think uh our families deserve that if we're able to. Um are there any other additional items uh other business before we move to public comment? All right, seeing none. And we'll note we have our students are busy. It's busy time of year um with activities. We've got a play uh I believe tonight that one is involved with. So, we thank them for their involvement, but wanted to make sure to note that they are part of this committee. Uh, we'll move on to public comment. If, uh, Mr. Gilmer
048tells me I need to read the disclaimer. Yeah, we have several people in the audience tonight. Uh, just for those who haven't been here for a while or just a reminder, if you'd like to make a comment, raise your hand in the interface at the bottom of your screen. And we do have some hand raised already. So, if you could read your statement, that'd be great. Wonderful. Thank you. Individuals attending this meeting and intending to speak to the committee should be aware that they are being recorded. In order to meet the requirements of the P of Pennsylvania sunshine law, it's necessary to record the names of all citizens who speak to the committee during the meeting. To assure compliance with this requirement is essential that those planning to address the committee raise their hand electronically
049and state their name and municipality. As a reminder, the public comment portion of the meeting is designed for residents and taxpayers of the district to provide comment and feedback on matters being discussed at tonight's meeting or matters that may come before the safe schools committee. It is not designed for debate or discussion with members of the committee. When appropriate, committee members may choose to respond to public comments that have been made or request that a member of the administration follow up with the speakers after the meeting. Members of the audience are asked to limit their questions and comments to three minutes. This is in reference to board policy number 903. Mr. Guller, thank you very much. All righty. Up first is Jason Laneir. Jason, I've enabled your microphone, so when you're ready to begin, please
050state your name and municipality for the record and begin your comments, please. Uh Jason Lansdale. Um I guess regarding the this camera in the classroom in the in the in the wire type laws that exist in Pennsylvania. Isn't that primarily regarding two-party consent? Meaning you're allowed to record a conversation with somebody so long as you tell them you are recording the conversation. And it makes sense then to say, uh, here in North Penn School District, you can expect that we are recording you in the classroom. Problem solved, right? I mean, you can make policy about not being able to talk on your cell phone, which I 100% agree with. Uh, make a policy saying this is we will be doing this. And now it doesn't necessarily mean that you are recording but you certainly have
051the option of recording uh the the video and the audio should uh and and again I don't believe it should be broadcast like a a you like a Zoom call but it should definitely be recorded and it should be reviewed not only in case there's something wrong but also in case in case there's a an issue that isn't having to do with with with special needs students just in general. I mean, it it would be a good way of of resolving a lot of questions and certainly things that I've I've talked to teachers about which they tell me goes on on a regular basis and they don't want to come forward for whatever reason, but they they tell me that there's there's kids that are uh acting out and if this is recorded, then we
052know it's and it's known to happen, then it can be addressed and there's there's no uh there's no problem with understanding what exactly happened in the classroom. And it also strikes me that that at any moment Dr. or any of the administrators could go to any classroom and and sit in the back and watch what's going on that I'm not assuming he's not recording anything or administrator is not recording anything but that there that if there were something to happen then then then as a witness to what was going on it could be essentially the you know it's it could be recorded absentia or afterwards. So, I I please explain why the wiretap law can't just be uh satisfied by announcing to everyone that when in a classroom just like when you're in the cafeteria
053or the hallway or in the bus, your audio can be recorded and uh then then it shouldn't be an issue any longer. Uh, I'm assuming that there's some sort of there's there's some sort of uh agreement regarding kids on the bus saying that they can be recorded for what's going on, you know, make sure they're not acting out or or what have you on the bus, but also the audio is being recorded. So, I would say do the similar same thing in the classroom and I'm interested to hear what you have to say. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Laneir. Uh, I do believe that's why we have Mr. Summers and uh legal team and others to that will be reporting back uh on that option and why uh options exist or not. Uh
054if I recall correctly, uh Mr. Summers used the the bus exemption because there is state law to carve it out. Uh absent any statute um you it's not the same. And that's what he was trying to describe in the situation that uh will be explored further. Did I get that right, Mr. Summers? That that's right. the the wiretap act uh is a Pennsylvania state law and that and that would not um prevent any issue in terms of the video recording um as you know we certainly have the videos uh throughout our buildings in in different locations. The wiretap act itself as you you suggested Mr. Kasa was amended by the legislature a number of years ago to specifically authorize audio recording on school buses. Um, you know, I think part of it was, uh, it
055was an area where there wasn't, it was difficult to supervise for many school districts where you had a driver obviously focused on the road. Um, and you know, it was a little bit um, more of a concern in terms of how to manage that environment. So, the legislature specifically made an exception to the wiretap act for school bus safety. um that audio recording with certain parameters being made in terms of notices being posted about audio recording occurring and notices being sent out to families. So, um, in terms of whether a school could put audio recording, um, in place without, uh, that kind of exception to the the Wiretype Act, I would say is a, uh, a a gray area of the law. But certainly, it would be cons concerning in that it seems like the
056legislature passed that exception um, with the understanding that that schools were not permitted to have audio recording in other locations. Thank you, Mr. Summers. Um, next uh commenter, please, Mr. Gilmer. Yeah, I'll just ask no hands are raised right now, but if you do want to make a comment, now's the time to raise the hand. I'm going do the countdown. Here we go. In three, two, one. That'll conclude public comment. All right. Uh, pulling up the agenda here. Uh, it's lost here in my window. When is our next Oh, here we go. Virtual. Uh our next safe schools committee meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 26th at 5:45 p.m. as usual here in our virtual setting. Uh with that, um Mr. Kasa, I think we're actually scheduled for the 27th. Is the am I correct
057on Tuesday because of Memorial Day? That is correct. Thanks for the catch. So amend that. So, it's Tuesday, May 27th. The first day of that week, uh will be our virtual meeting at 5:45 p.m. Thank you for that catch. Um with uh thank you everyone for joining us uh live and those who are able to watch this recording, please reach out to the committee or any one of us at any time. U if you have other uh thoughts or concerns that you want to share um or things that are going well. With that, we'll adjourn the meeting if there's a motion. So moved. Yes, meeting is adjourned. Thank you everyone. Take care. Thank you everyone.