They’ll be put in classrooms with special needs students.
Frederick, Md (KM) The Frederick County Public School System will be installing cameras in seven classrooms in 2026. They will be located at four Expressions classrooms at Middletown Primary School; two Learning for Life classrooms at Oakdale Middle School; and one Learning for Life classroom at Catoctin High School.
Sarah Siergo, Chief of Staff for FCPS, says these cameras will be placed in classrooms with students who have special needs, and they will record incidents that involve these students and the staff that work with them. “So if there is ever a question about what’s happened in a classroom: maybe it’s a concern; it could be a student injury; it could be an accusation against a staff member, whatever it night be. There might be a situation where video footage would help us, help us have a better and more complete understanding of what happened,” she said.
But Siergo says these cameras will not be used for surveillance. “These cameras are not being installed for continuous monitoring or evaluation of staff or students.; They’re not live-streamed. They’re not used for routine discipline, or performance management, or evaluation. This pilot is really focused on a very specific safety or transparency purpose, and it’s got very strict protocols around access, use and privacy,” she says.
The video will determine what actually happened. “When you’re able to have that sort of objective that video footage to support what someone might describe, it really provides a level of trust and transparency, It’s not someone’s interpretation. It’s not someone’s impression or their retelling of something. There’s an actual video that will provide a more complete picture of what’s occurred,” says Siergo.
FCPS says the cameras will record video only, and not audio. Requests to view the recorded video will be governed FCPS regulations and must serve a legitimate purpose. And the School Systems officials say the videos will be stored on a secured closed network with strictly limited access.
The pilot will run from January 20th, 2026, and continue until the end of the school year. . Then the School System will decide if they were useful, or should be discontinued.
By Kevin McManus