A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to Surveillance Technology Impact Report regarding video recording devices on school buses

35. SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT Department: School Division or Unit (if applicable): Safety & Security, Transportation Submitted by: James Maloney Date: 3/2/2020 Surveillance Technology: Bus video recorders on individual buses 1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will collect Surveillance Data. • Cameras are installed on all school buses, including buses for special education students, along with a posted notice that video & audio recording is taking place. • The cameras on the school buses allow the school department to review any incidents that take place, after the event is over. The cameras allow the department to determine the source of any behavioral issues on the bus, many of which take place out of the line of sight of the bus driver. • Images and audio are recorded to a box, and the images & audio are retrieved manually by the Transportation Director when investigating an incident. • The number of incidents requiring investigation varies annually. Videos are used in approximately 30 to 60 investigations each year. 2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology? • Supporting the safety of all students and staff on bus transportation by addressing disruptive behavior appropriately. • Although some buses have adults who serve as bus monitors, not all buses have monitors and the monitors cannot observe every student or incident on a bus. These cameras were originally deployed at the request of parents concerned about bullying incidents on buses. These cameras provide footage of any behavioral issues that may occur on school buses. The footage helps CPS staff and parents clarify what actually happened during an incident and supplements any report from a student or bus driver. 3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?

• All school buses have carried these on-board cameras since their original installation in FY13. 4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have? • The data from these cameras is over-recorded at monthly intervals (by actual usage). Without physically retrieving the imaging data from the bus, it is not accessible to anyone. • For all students riding the buses their images and voices are recorded and saved to the device located on each bus. • The recordings are secure and only accessed by the CPS Transportation Director in the event of an event investigation. At that time the recordings may be reviewed by select CPS Administrators. In some cases, parents can view the footage, but only of their child. • Parents are notified in annual “About the Bus” notices that “Buses are equipped with audio and visual equipment.” Consent is not currently requested. • All buses have a posted notice that video & audio recording is taking place. • All data is overwritten every 30 days (depending on bus activity) unless it has been archived because of an active investigation. Since investigated student issues may be considered part of the student record these videos are archived and purged according to student records retention requirements. 5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs, ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds? • The initial cost of the SEON camera system was $47,190 when it was installed in the spring of 2013. • There have been ongoing maintenance expenditures for moving equipment to newer buses and adding cameras as needed. o FY14 $4,955 o FY16 $12,500

• It is not possible to determine the personnel costs of using this equipment. The Transportation Director must board a bus after an incident and download the images in order to proceed with an investigation, but it is difficult to quantify the time involved. • Both equipment and personnel were funded from the School Department General Fund.