Parents sue school over locker room cameras -Images accessed 98 times in 6 months

AP via CNN ^ | Tuesday, July 1, 2003 Posted: 9:50 PM EDT (0150 GMT) | no byline

[weegee]

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) -- A Tennessee middle school allowed security cameras to film children undressing in locker rooms and then stored the images on a computer accessible through the Internet, according to a lawsuit filed by a group of angry parents.

[weegee]

Sounds like the school computer was hacked if someone accessed the files from out of state.

[Brandon]

William Needham, director of Overton County Schools, said the assistant principal has been transferred to another school in the system.

Sounds like the district has already picked out a scapegoat. Not to say this guy is necessarily innocent -- but it was an institutional decision to install cameras where teenagers were dressing and undressing. And a bad one. If they were having behavior problems, the correct answer would be to require the gym teachers to be present in the locker rooms whenever the kids were, and keep them locked when not in use. If I was a parent in this situation, I would be livid.

[LaraCroft]

I doubt it. What are the chances a random hacker would just stumble on this? Sounds like an inside job to me.

[weegee]

People stumble across odd things on the web. Even home based webcams.

Anything that should be closed circuit should not be tied to the world wide web.

[The_Media_never_lie]

"The parents have been devastated by the conduct of the school officials, by the videotaping and by the breach of trust," said attorney Mark Chalos, who represents the parents of 16 girls and one boy.

The parents have been "devastated" and soon the lawyers will be remunerated.

[mtbopfuyn]

WTH? I'd fire and sue everyone who was involved with the concept of putting in cameras to purchasing and installing them to each and everyone who had access to the pictures. Yes, a major housecleaning. NO ONE has the right to film children in a locker room. If there was a problem then make the PE teacher do her/his job, get out of his/her office and monitor the locker room.

[em2vn]

Where does the funding come from for something like this? Very sloppy financial controls if the school district paid for this without knowing what was going on.
Don't you think someone at the school would have ask what was up with the work going on in the locker rooms.

[MeekOneGOP]

Wow. Security cameras in locker rooms, huh? Article doesn't say why.

And it's hooked up to the 'Net ? Hmm ??? . . .

[Elsie]

Chalos said he doesn't know if the cameras are still operating.

---

Attention all classes:

The movie Clueless will be showing in the auditorium this afternoon at 2PM.

Please bring a teacher/authority figure with you to the screening.