OCPS general counsel proposes stricter building and recording rules; board backs forwarding policy to final adoption

Orange County Public Schools’ general counsel presented proposed changes to Policy ECA (Building and Ground Security) at the board work session, recommending clearer limits on public access to district facilities and a prohibition on audio or video recording inside district buildings without consent of those recorded.

General counsel (identified in the meeting as Mr. Palmerini) told the board the revisions respond to repeated incidents in which members of the public used cellphones to record employees and visitors in district lobbies and offices. The draft classifies areas of district property as designated public fora, limited designated public fora or nonpublic fora based on intended use and authorizes the superintendent or a designee to manage access, post notice and employ reasonable means — including physical barriers and signage — to separate public and nonpublic areas.

The proposed policy would make it unlawful to record video or sound inside board‑owned, controlled or leased property “without the consent of all persons whose voice or image is being recorded,” except for law enforcement activities and properly noticed public meetings. Palmerini said the change aims to prevent confrontational “First Amendment audit” recordings that, he said, have targeted employees and other members of the public in lobbies and customer service areas.

The draft includes an enforcement ladder: staff may warn individuals and ask them to stop prohibited conduct, the superintendent or designee may require persons to leave and, if necessary, request a trespass warning from law enforcement using Florida trespass statutes. The policy also reiterates prohibitions on weapons, smoking, disruptive or harassing behavior and unauthorized posting of materials.

The general counsel addressed firearms after board members asked about recent case law. He said the district’s current position — informed by Florida statutes and an attorney‑general memorandum — remains that federal and state statutes still prohibit firearms in schools and government buildings, and that the district intends to continue screening and enforcing weapon prohibitions on campus and in district buildings. He noted, however, that the area of the law is evolving and that he would provide a written update.

Several board members pressed staff to ensure the policy protected legitimate public‑meeting speech and did not unintentionally restrict constitutionally protected activity. Palmearini told the board the policy was modeled closely on a municipal ordinance that had survived a federal First Amendment challenge and that staff would take care to balance employee privacy, safety and the public’s right to record public meetings.

Member Banas asked where someone who believed a public‑records request was mishandled should go; staff said the Office of Professional Standards would investigate complaints about how public‑records requests are processed.

After discussion, the board gave staff consensus to place the revised policy on the docket for final adoption, subject to the small wording change requested by a member (replacing a reference to “board staff” with “board and board staff” so the policy’s enforcement language reflected both board members and staff). No roll‑call vote occurred at the work session; the change was returned to staff for revision before final adoption.