Pursuant to Texas Education Code 26.009 (b), schools can videotape students without parent permission for purposes of maintaining order and discipline. However, under FERPA, the parent may only view the video if his or her child is the only student in the video. Typically, the video would reveal the behavior of other students as well, and therefore, it would contain possibly identifiable information of other students that cannot be viewed by any parent.

The Texas Attorney General has addressed this issue and determined that videotapes made on school buses, on which the driver addresses some students by name and which “shows the faces, bodies, and behavior of students of the district” are education records under FERPA and are exempted from disclosure. Texas Attorney General ORD 95-821. Tapes will remain in the custody of White Oak ISD Transportation Department.