News From The States

Special education rooms could feature cameras watching over students if Florida lawmakers keep up support for a bipartisan bill. The legislation seeks to provide an objective eye in situations in which students, particularly those who are nonverbal, might be abused or mistreated. The House bill, HB 859, sponsored by Reps. Chase Tramont, a  Republican from Port Orange, and Kevin Chambliss, a Democrat from Homestead, passed its first committee last week and second committee on Wednesday. It has one committee to go before landing before the full House. 

The Senate bill, SB 1170, is sponsored by Sen. Alexis Calatayud, a Republican from Miami. The Senate version was approved by the first of three committees on Tuesday. The legislation would let parents ask principals to install video cameras in classrooms in which a majority of the students are receiving special education services.