Security Cameras will no longer be installed in kindergartens, they will be allowed in corridors and the schoolyard, but not in gyms or in classrooms. These are some of the new regulations to be issued by the Israeli Education Ministry. A ministry document also states that cameras cannot be used to replace on-duty teachers during recess.

Moreover, in contrast to the current situation, local authorities will not be able to decide to install cameras in schools in their jurisdiction. Rather, the decision will be up to the principal and the teachers. The new regulations come after years in which more and more security cameras have been installed in hundreds of schools in dozens of cities and towns.

The document, outlining the new rules, to be issued by the ministry director general, has not yet been published and is now being scrutinized by the Justice Ministry. However, the head of the Education Ministry’s Psychological Counseling Service, Hannah Shadmi, made the details public at a conference on child and family rights at Sha’arei Mishpat College in Hod Hasharon.

Before the Education Ministry will allow a camera to be installed, the new directives will require the principal to explain to the ministry why it is necessary and what other steps he or she has taken to prevent violence in the school.

Principals will be limited to using the cameras to prevent violence and not to follow students who are skipping classes. […]