# Special Education rooms need cameras **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 16, 2016, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-education-rooms-need-cameras/743349 "2016-01-16T20:50:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-education-rooms-need-cameras/743349/1 "2016-01-16T20:50:47Z")
Here is a [LINK](http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2016/01/14/ex-teacher-who-assaulted-students-gets-jail/78793690/) to a story about a Special Ed teacher who has been arrested and charged with physically abusing the students in her care. It came about because of hidden cameras placed by police. Sadly the woman is only getting 21 days in jail for a crime which should warrant much, much more. I work alot with the special ed community and this is a big issue we are pushing. Kids in special ed often cannot communicate properly and many bad things happen from abuse to the teachers just not doing their jobs. I know one where the teacher basically sat on her computer all the time doing Facebook or shopping and the kids would sit on the floor with toys. You may not realize it but special education rooms are often stuck in far corners of school buildings and are rarely visited by principals. Another is that parents are not allowed to observe the special ed classroom without permissions and strict guidelines. Staff have a big code of silence. So anyways we are pushing for laws requiring cameras. [Texas is the first state to do so](https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2015/06/29/state-require-cameras-special/20420/) and we want many more. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-education-rooms-need-cameras/743349/2 "2016-01-16T20:57:08Z")
Wow, the Texas School Board doing something that isn’t insanely stupid? Did I wake up in the Mirror Universe today? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-education-rooms-need-cameras/743349/3 "2016-01-17T21:20:20Z")
Sounds like a good idea to me, as long as the plan also includes who’s on the other end of the camera, and what they do with what they see. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-education-rooms-need-cameras/743349/4 "2016-01-17T23:00:58Z")
What’s this going to fix? The cameras aren’t magically going to solve the underlying problem, which is that our schools systems are doing jack-all to properly address the needs of our children. If positions in the classroom were highly desirable, if training were effective, if funding was where it needed to be, we wouldn’t be having these conversations at all. In this particular case, it looks like we probably have a veteran Special Ed teacher who over a very long period of time completely lost her shit. Probably she should have been transitioned out of that self-contained classroom setting a long time ago. Personally, I think teachers who spend every day in those environments should see mental health professionals on a regular basis, and on the school district’s dime. But yeah, sure, put cameras in these classrooms. These kids need to be protected from the negligent assholes we hire as caretakers since we don’t have the means to hire, pay, or retain qualified people who will actually do them any good. ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-education-rooms-need-cameras/743349/5 "2016-01-17T23:29:41Z")
Take money to maintain buildings or attract new teachers or put in cameras/ Choices Choices.