NYS education commissioner bans use of facial recognition technology in schools
A facial scan camera is seen at Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies baseball stadium, in Philadelphia on Aug. 29. Credit: AP/Matt Slocum
New York State’s education commissioner banned the use of facial recognition technology in schools Wednesday, but she said it will be up to local districts whether to employ other biometric identifying tools.
A decision issued Wednesday from Commissioner Betty Rosa prohibits schools statewide from purchasing or using facial recognition technology, but “schools can decide whether to use biometric identifying technology other than facial recognition technology at the local level so long as they consider the technology’s privacy implications, impact on civil rights, effectiveness, and parental input."
Rosa’s order cited a recent report by the state’s Office of Information Technology Services that identified “serious concerns regarding the use of facial recognition technology in schools, including, as reported in referenced studies, potentially higher rate of false positives for people of color, nonbinary and transgender people, women, the elderly, and children as well as the ability of schools to use such technology without parental consent.”
Bob Vecchio, executive director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association, said the group agreed with the commissioner's decision.
“We agree with many of the concerns shared by the State Education Department with regards to the use of facial recognition technology or biometric identifying technology being utilized in our schools for security purpose," he said. "We also believe that decisions surrounding school security should come from the local level as each school district and their security needs differ district to district and even building to building within a district.”
Rosa's order also said there is little information regarding facial recognition technology being used to detect and prevent violent incidents.
The New York Civil Liberties Union said the state Education Department has "stood up for the privacy and civil rights of New York’s students."
“Schools should be safe places to learn and grow, not spaces where they are constantly scanned and monitored — with their most sensitive information at risk," said Stefanie Coyle, deputy director of the Education Policy Center at the NYCLU.
The use of facial- and object-recognition technology in schools came under scrutiny in 2020 when the Lockport City district in Western New York used it in security cameras. Then-Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed a law imposing a moratorium on the system while the state studied its impact.
The Office of Information Technology Services gathered feedback from teachers, school administrators and parents, along with individuals with expertise in school safety, data privacy, civil liberties and civil rights, for more than a year to produce the report, which was released in August.
Facial recognition technology can identify or confirm a person's identity using their face via security cameras. That identity can be matched against a database of stored images. The technology has been used or considered in school systems elsewhere around the country, including in Oklahoma, West Virginia and Kansas, according to news reports.
At a state public hearing in October, proponents said the technology can be used as a safety tool, with one official from a security group saying it can help security staff screen visitors against a list of people prohibited from entering the building.
The report found there are some benefits for one-to-one uses. For example, a student could use facial recognition technology to open a device such as an iPad instead of having to use and remember a password.
New York State’s education commissioner banned the use of facial recognition technology in schools Wednesday, but she said it will be up to local districts whether to employ other biometric identifying tools.
A decision issued Wednesday from Commissioner Betty Rosa prohibits schools statewide from purchasing or using facial recognition technology, but “schools can decide whether to use biometric identifying technology other than facial recognition technology at the local level so long as they consider the technology’s privacy implications, impact on civil rights, effectiveness, and parental input."
Rosa’s order cited a recent report by the state’s Office of Information Technology Services that identified “serious concerns regarding the use of facial recognition technology in schools, including, as reported in referenced studies, potentially higher rate of false positives for people of color, nonbinary and transgender people, women, the elderly, and children as well as the ability of schools to use such technology without parental consent.”
Bob Vecchio, executive director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association, said the group agreed with the commissioner's decision.
“We agree with many of the concerns shared by the State Education Department with regards to the use of facial recognition technology or biometric identifying technology being utilized in our schools for security purpose," he said. "We also believe that decisions surrounding school security should come from the local level as each school district and their security needs differ district to district and even building to building within a district.”
Rosa's order also said there is little information regarding facial recognition technology being used to detect and prevent violent incidents.
The New York Civil Liberties Union said the state Education Department has "stood up for the privacy and civil rights of New York’s students."
“Schools should be safe places to learn and grow, not spaces where they are constantly scanned and monitored — with their most sensitive information at risk," said Stefanie Coyle, deputy director of the Education Policy Center at the NYCLU.
The use of facial- and object-recognition technology in schools came under scrutiny in 2020 when the Lockport City district in Western New York used it in security cameras. Then-Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed a law imposing a moratorium on the system while the state studied its impact.
The Office of Information Technology Services gathered feedback from teachers, school administrators and parents, along with individuals with expertise in school safety, data privacy, civil liberties and civil rights, for more than a year to produce the report, which was released in August.
Facial recognition technology can identify or confirm a person's identity using their face via security cameras. That identity can be matched against a database of stored images. The technology has been used or considered in school systems elsewhere around the country, including in Oklahoma, West Virginia and Kansas, according to news reports.
At a state public hearing in October, proponents said the technology can be used as a safety tool, with one official from a security group saying it can help security staff screen visitors against a list of people prohibited from entering the building.
The report found there are some benefits for one-to-one uses. For example, a student could use facial recognition technology to open a device such as an iPad instead of having to use and remember a password.
Joie Tyrrell is a Long Island native and covers education for Newsday, where she has worked since 1998.
