As of the beginning of this month, all public and charter school special education classrooms in Louisiana are required to have cameras installed inside them. That’s due to Act 479, which was signed into law last year. It was authored by Livingston Representative Shane Mack, who says nearly all special education classrooms got them installed in time.
“There may be one or two that are still working on it, but they are in the process of getting it completed,” Mack said.
Mack says the purpose of having cameras in special education classrooms is so that parents or guardians can get involved if there’s an incident in the classroom.
“The recordings can be viewed by supervision’s designated person, and it can be used to improve the quality of care when it comes to handling the incidents or outbursts in the classrooms,” Mack explained.
Mack says the law goes beyond merely installing cameras in the special needs classrooms.
“The bill required a crisis intervention training, so that everybody involved in the process could better handle the situation,” Mack noted.