Senate education committee advances bill requiring audio recorders in school locker rooms after parentstestimony of assaults

State lawmakers passed legislation on voice vote that requires public schools to install audio recording devices in locker rooms and to limit who may access recordings and how long recordings are retained.

Representative Keith Brooks introduced House Bill 19 66 and invited two parents whose sons said they were assaulted in Quitman Public Schools to describe the incidents. Stephanie White and Angie Edwards said their sons endured repeated sexualized assaults and harassment in an unsupervised locker room; three students later pleaded guilty to assault and related charges. White and Edwards said locker-room recordings would have provided evidence they lacked and could deter or speed investigations.

The bill requires schools that install audio devices to post notice that recording is taking place, limit access to recordings to a small set of officials (the bill and committee discussion narrowly tailors who may access recordings), keep recordings for a short defined period when there is no allegation, and preserve recordings longer if an allegation is made. Representative Brooks and witnesses told the committee the devices are meant to be preventive and to support faster, fairer investigations when incidents are reported.

White County Central Superintendent (Dr.) Ferris Smith described his district—s experience installing voice-activated devices. Smith said his district chose the Fricata audio system and paid roughly $1,200 per device (about $7,400 total for six locker rooms) and a cloud storage fee of about $250 per device per year (roughly $1,500 per year). He said recordings are treated as educational records and are not released under public-record requests; building principals and the superintendent control access and recordings are turned off during games or other public uses of locker rooms.

Committee members asked how the devices are turned off for visiting teams and who may request recordings. Witnesses said devices are disabled for athletic events, access is narrowly restricted, and recordings are retained for 90 days in the absence of a report and up to one year when needed for an investigation. The sponsor placed the bill—s required implementation into the 2027-28 school year to allow districts time to budget and adapt procedures. Department staff and multiple superintendents participating in the hearing said existing school-safety grants and federal grant programs (the committee discussed COPS and other federal funds) are available to help districts pay for installation.

Committee proceedings closed with a motion to pass as amended; the committee approved the measure by voice vote. No roll-call tally was taken in committee. The bill as amended narrows who may access recordings, sets retention windows, requires notice to students and parents, and allows districts to use school-safety grant funds for purchase and maintenance.

The legislation drew strong emotional testimony from victims' families and district leaders and prompted questions about privacy, chain-of-custody for recordings, and possible sanctions if a district or staff member improperly deletes recordings. The bill does not create criminal penalties in the committee text; witnesses said personnel or ethics rules and criminal statutes could apply depending on the facts of a mishandled recording.

Implementation details — including technical specifications, exact access lists, and a funding plan — will be developed as the bill moves through the legislative process and as districts request grant funding.

Ending: The measure advances with committee approval and an implementation window; the sponsor called for districts and the Department of Education to work on practical rules and funding options during the interim.