Board approves policy changes after 2025 law requiring cameras in qualifying special-education classrooms

The Acadia Parish School Board voted Dec. 9 to change district policy to align with a 2025 legislative change referred to in the meeting as "Act 479," which the board said requires cameras to be installed automatically in qualifying special-education classrooms.

A district representative explained that, under the revision described to the board, cameras must be installed in special-education classrooms that meet the qualification the presenter cited — where roughly 50% of the students are assigned to that room for the full day — a threshold the presenter said typically applies to more self-contained autism and severe-profile classrooms. "It is on all the time," the presenter said when asked whether the cameras record continuously; the presenter added footage is not to be regularly monitored and would only be reviewed in response to a parent concern or a suspected abuse allegation.

Board members asked clarifying questions including whether principals retain any discretion for other classrooms and whether parents retain any access rights. The presenter said parents no longer must request camera installation in qualifying rooms and that the change removes the prior parent-request pathway; footage, the presenter said, would be pulled for review only if a concern is raised.

After discussion the board moved and approved the policy revisions by voice vote. The board also separately approved administrative procedures related to crisis intervention, including seclusion and physical restraint, during the same agenda sequence.

The transcript records the board referencing the law by the meeting label "Act 479"; the board did not recite the statute number or text in full at the meeting.