Board Meeting Comments

Good evening, members of the Board and Superintendent. My name is Dr. Tranettea Williams, and I am the parent of Christian, a student with multiple disabilities at Park Forest Middle School. I am here because classroom cameras are not optional extras for our children. For a student who is nonverbal, a camera may be the only voice that can tell a parent what happened during the school day. My son cannot come home and tell me about his day, an injury, or something that frightened him. These cameras protect our students, and they protect the teachers and staff who care for them. At the beginning of this school year, my son's classroom had no camera because his teacher's classroom was changed. I was not notified that his room was without a camera, and I have not received any written notice about cameras in his classroom. State law has required a camera in every qualifying self-contained special education classroom since February 1, 2026. A room change does not pause that requirement. Our most vulnerable students should never start the school year unprotected because of a scheduling or facilities decision. To stay in compliance with La. R.S. 17:1948 and Act 237 of 2026, I respectfully ask the Board to: 1. Send every parent in a covered classroom written notice that a camera is installed, as the law requires. 2. Notify parents whenever a camera has been out of operation for more than two consecutive school days. 3. Install a camera before students begin attending any new or relocated special education classroom. 4. Add the provisions state law requires that are missing from Policy IDDFC: no recording inside restrooms or changing areas, and training for staff who work in classrooms with cameras. 5. Publish the procedure parents follow to request a viewing of a recording. Act 237 requires the Superintendent and a designee, or two designees, to be present at the first viewing of a recording after a request. Neither the Act nor Policy IDDFC says whether the parent who made the request attends that first viewing, or whether district staff watch it first. I ask the Board to answer clearly: when a parent requests a recording, will the parent watch it together with the Superintendent and designee, or will the district view it before the parent does? I urge the Board to allow the requesting parent to attend that first viewing. Transparency builds trust. Our children with exceptionalities deserve the full protection the Legislature intended. Let's stay in compliance with Act 237, and let's go beyond the minimum where our nonverbal students need it most. Thank you for your time and for your service to our students.