SF4906

Purpose

• Establish a voluntary grant program to help school districts, charter schools, and nonpublic schools implement school safety video analytics software that runs on existing camera systems. The goal is to improve safety through earlier threat detection, better situational awareness, monitoring of unauthorized access, real-time alerts to school staff and first responders, and to reduce the need for constant manual monitoring by staff.

Main Provisions

• Subd.1: Program established

  • The commissioner must create a voluntary grant program to support the use of video analytics software that works with current campus camera infrastructure to enhance safety.

• Subd.2: Eligible uses

  • Grant funds may be used for acquiring software, licensing, implementing, training, and maintaining video analytics systems.
  • Uses include early threat detection, situational awareness, monitoring of unauthorized entry or restricted areas, real-time alerting (including automated notifications), and safety-related operational functions that lessen manual monitoring.
  • Funds may not be used to purchase new camera hardware unless it is necessary to integrate with existing cameras.

• Subd.3: Voluntary participation and local control

  • Participation in the program is voluntary.
  • Schools are not required to adopt or use the software, and participating schools retain local control over how the software is implemented, configured, and operated.

• Subd.4: Data privacy safeguards

  • Schools using the funded software must follow all applicable state and federal data privacy laws (including state chapter 13 and FERPA).
  • The system must include privacy-protective features, such as facial image masking by default so monitoring does not identify individuals unless needed for a defined security purpose.
  • If facial recognition is enabled, it must be limited to narrowly defined high-risk watch lists established by the school or district and governed by written local policy.
  • Data collected can only be used for school safety and operational purposes and may not be used for general surveillance or student discipline unrelated to safety.

• Subd.5: Grant awards and prioritization

  • Applications for grants must be submitted in the form prescribed by the commissioner.
  • The commissioner must prioritize applicants that: 1) use existing camera infrastructure and can operate across multiple systems/cameras to minimize costs, 2) document a school safety need, 3) present a plan for staff training and incident response, 4) include a plan to evaluate outcomes over time—specifically the effectiveness of AI-based video analytics in improving early threat detection, reducing response time, and decreasing the need for continuous manual monitoring.
  • The commissioner must award at least three grants to public schools and at least three grants to nonpublic schools located in the seven-county metropolitan area, and at least three grants to public schools and at least three grants to nonpublic schools located outside of the seven-county metro area.

• Subd.6: Reporting

  • By January 15, 2027 and each year thereafter, the commissioner must report to the chairs and ranking minority members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over K-12 education finance and policy.
  • The report must include at minimum: grant recipients and award amounts; general categories of grant-funded activities; observed safety or operational outcomes; and any recommendations for statutory changes.

Data Privacy and Safety Highlights

• The bill emphasizes compliance with existing privacy laws (state and federal), default facial image masking, and restricting the use of facial recognition to narrowly defined, locally policy-governed high-risk watch lists.
• Data usage is restricted to safety and operational purposes, not general surveillance or non-safety-related student discipline.

Significance and What Changes

• What’s new

  • Creates a new, voluntary state grant program (under Minnesota Statutes chapter 123B.1, section 123B.573S) to fund school safety video analytics on existing cameras.
  • Establishes strong privacy safeguards and controlled use of facial recognition features.
  • Introduces formal funding priorities and geographic distribution requirements for public and nonpublic schools.
  • Adds annual reporting requirements to track grant outcomes and inform potential statutory updates.

• How it changes current law

  • Adds a new program and statutory framework focused on school safety video analytics, with built-in privacy protections and accountability measures.
  • Requires adherence to privacy laws (e.g., chapter 13, FERPA) and local policy governance for any facial recognition features.
  • Institutes explicit reporting to legislature on program results and safety outcomes.

Relevant Terms - school safety video analytics grant program - video analytics software - existing camera infrastructure - early threat detection - situational awareness - monitoring of unauthorized access - real-time alerting - automated notifications - operational safety functions - privacy-protective features - facial image masking - facial recognition - high-risk watch lists - written local policy - data privacy laws - Chapter 13 (state data privacy law) - FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) - general surveillance prohibition - school safety and operational purposes - staff training and incident response planning - evaluation of outcomes - AI-based video analytics - grant recipients and award amounts - reporting requirements - seven-county metropolitan area