- An Iowa Republican lawmaker wants parents to be able to monitor nearly every classroom in the state.
- State Rep. Norlin Mommsen compared the presence of cameras in classrooms to police body cameras.
- The proposal comes amid a national GOP-led effort to politicize parents' frustration with schools.
A Republican state lawmaker in Iowa wants nearly every classroom in his state to have cameras so that parents or guardians can monitor what their children are learning in real-time, a proposal that comes amid a national effort by conservatives to use frustrations about schools as a political wedge issue.
State Rep. Norlin Mommsen's bill would require cameras to be installed in all public school classrooms that are not being used for special education or gym. Parents or legal guardians would be given access to live feeds, which they could access while school is in session. School districts would be required to pay to set up and maintain the cameras.
Mommsen told The Center Square, a news offshoot of the conservative Franklin Foundation, that teachers should welcome his legislation, arguing that the effort would "showcase the great work our teachers do," while holding schools and teachers accountable. He compared the classroom surveillance to police body cameras, which law enforcement agencies across the country have increasingly adopted in the wake of high profile police killings of Black people.
"Similar to a body camera on a policeman, a camera takes away the 'he said, she said' or 'he said, he said,' type argument and lets them know 'hey, we are doing a good job.' It takes that argument away," Mommsen told the publication. He did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Teachers' unions and other school groups slammed Mommsen's legislation as a waste of already limited funds, an attack on educators, and a violation of students' privacy. Iowa State Education Association President Mike Beranek said in a statement that the proposal was "written with the intent of further insulting public education professionals and the locally elected school boards."
"Instead of wasting public funds on monitoring equipment, we should employ additional qualified professionals, reduce class sizes, and provide more programming that helps students acquire the skills they need," said Becky Pringle, president of the 3-million-member National Education Association — the nation's largest union.
The Iowa Association of School Boards is formally lobbying against the bill. Tammy Votava, a spokesperson for the organization, said the group opposes the legislation because it believes filming students and teachers in the manner proposed would violate federal student privacy laws.
"Because it would be nearly impossible to guarantee that a parent could only view their own student in video footage, the privacy of other students in the classroom would be violated," she told Insider in an email.
The legislation, House File 2177, would also punish administrators or teachers who in any way obstruct the footage, starting with a written reprimand and escalating to a fine of 5% of a teacher's weekly salary. Superintendents would also be punished if they fail to comply with the bill.
The Iowa bill is just the latest example of a growing effort to monitor teachers' behavior in the classroom as Republicans lean into parental involvement in schools as an electoral issue. They believe the issue can help them win majorities in 2022 as skirmishes over face mask mandates, controversial books, and education concerning race and gender play out across the country.
Education was a key issue in the November election of Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican who last month promoted an email address that parents could use to report public-school teachers they believed were "behaving objectionably."
"This gives us a great insight into what's happening at a school level, and that gives us further ability to make sure we're rooting it out," Youngkin said in an interview with conservative radio host John Fredericks. The move drew widespread criticism — and spam from TikTokers.
In New Hampshire, the Department of Education created a webpage to help the public file an "intake questionnaire" that can lead to formal discrimination complaints against teachers. The website is for those who believe they or their child was discriminated against because their school was teaching that one group is superior to another group or "inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously."
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said in a statement to Insider, "These noxious efforts to chill speech and politicize schools are intended to divide our communities and deny our kids opportunities to learn and thrive."
The AFT-New Hampshire chapter, along with public school teachers and parents, filed a federal lawsuit against state officials, challenging the state's "divisive concepts" law.
"Putting politicians in control of classrooms is a slap in the face to all Americans who value freedom and local control, and teachers will fight this blatant censorship tooth and nail," Weingarten said.