{"id":7087,"date":"2019-10-03T09:00:48","date_gmt":"2019-10-03T13:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/?p=7087"},"modified":"2019-10-03T10:56:05","modified_gmt":"2019-10-03T14:56:05","slug":"is-it-legal-for-a-student-to-record-class-lectures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/is-it-legal-for-a-student-to-record-class-lectures\/","title":{"rendered":"Is it Legal for a Student to Record Class Lectures?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_pop\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/gallery\/share-button-gray.png\" style=\"border:0px\" alt=\"Share\" \/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"StumbleUpon\",\"Digg\",\"Reddit\",\"Bebo\",\"Delicious\");var hupso_icon_type = \"labels\";var hupso_background=\"#FFFFFF\";var hupso_border=\"#FFFFFF\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_twitter_via=\"wrightslaw\";var hupso_url=\"\";var hupso_title=\"Is%20it%20Legal%20for%20a%20Student%20to%20Record%20Class%20Lectures%3F\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div><blockquote><p>In my state, it is illegal to record people without their permission.\u00a0Is there an exception for students with disabilities who need to record class lectures for education purposes?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-25127\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/adults.take_.notes_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"501\" height=\"334\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/adults.take_.notes_.jpg 849w, https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/adults.take_.notes_-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/adults.take_.notes_-768x511.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 501px) 100vw, 501px\" \/>Many students with disabilities have difficulty with listening, focus, processing, note-taking, etc.\u00a0 Recording a class would be a reasonable accommodation for these students.<\/p>\n<p>If you are a high school student with a disability who has an IEP, the IEP Team is required to consider your unique needs and challenges and write any necessary accommodations in the IEP.<\/p>\n<p>IDEA 2004 also requires that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/info\/iep.specfact.popup.resp1.htm\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">IEP team consider a student&#8217;s need for assistive technology<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Many students use assistive technology in class when they need accommodations for listening and note-taking. The LiveScribe pen (a digital recording device) is commonly used for this purpose.<\/p>\n<p>You&#8217;ll find more information about this in the blog post\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0066cc;\"><a style=\"color: #0066cc;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/?p=3298\">Assistive Technology for the Struggling Notetaker<\/a><\/span>\u00a0at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/assistive-technology-for-the-struggling-notetaker\/\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/assistive-technology-for-the-struggling-notetaker\/<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>Right to Privacy in the Classroom<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>In this article from 2011 in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.myeasternshoremd.com\/news\/queen_annes_county\/article_a6a128d2-ab87-5bed-9416-cc007e614b98.html\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">Queen Anne County, MD<\/span>,<\/a> teacher\u2019s found there&#8217;s \u201cno such thing as private speech in a public school classroom,\u201d when a teacher brought privacy concerns about using Livescribe pens in special ed classrooms to the School Board.<\/p>\n<p>Tyson Bennett, a sped lawyer for the school board noted \u201cseveral cases in which judges have ruled that what transpires in a classroom is not private speech.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bennett did not cite the case, but said, \u201cWhen an Illinois special education teacher objected to her class being recorded in 2007 the U.S. District Court there ruled against her. The decision, which upheld those in two previous cases, was that &#8220;teachers have no reasonable expectation of privacy in communicating in their classrooms.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Below is the Federal District Court ruling in <a href=\"https:\/\/casetext.com\/case\/plock-v-bd-of-educ-of-freeport-school-dist\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\"><em><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">Plock v. Board of Education of Freeport School District No. 145<\/span><\/em>, 545 F.Supp.2d 755, 758 (N.D.Ill.2007)<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>A classroom in a public school is not the private property of any teacher. A classroom is a public space in which government employees communicate with members of the public. There is nothing private about communications which take place in such a setting. Any expectations of privacy concerning communications taking place in special education classrooms such as those subject to the proposed audio monitoring in this case are inherently unreasonable and beyond the protection of the Fourth Amendment.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>In<span style=\"color: #0066cc;\"><em> <a style=\"color: #0066cc;\" href=\"https:\/\/law.justia.com\/cases\/illinois\/court-of-appeals-second-appellate-district\/2009\/2080879.html\">Plock (2009)<\/a>,<\/em><\/span> a Court of Appeals ruled on the \u201cconversation\u201d between students and teachers in a special education classroom under the Eavesdropping Act.<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>*<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Today, in Queen Anne County schools, <span style=\"color: #0066cc;\"><a style=\"color: #0066cc;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.qacps.org\/cms\/lib\/MD01001006\/Centricity\/Domain\/11\/Annual%20Update_Part%201_11%2022%2011.pdf\">Livescribe smart pens are used as instructional technology in classrooms<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>Hat tip to our online community member, Chris, for sharing this &#8211;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>**\u00a0 Update, March 28, 2014 **<br \/>\nIllinois Supreme Court Strikes Down Illinois Eavesdropping Law<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>In 1994, the IL Eavesdropping Act &#8220;defined an &#8216;eavesdropping device&#8217; to include &#8216;any device capable of being used to hear or record oral conversations or intercept, retain, or transcribe electronic communications&#8217;&#8230;&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>As of March 20, 2014 &#8211;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>&#8230;individuals and organizations should be aware that the law no longer prohibits the recording and distribution of conversations by a private individual.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>The Illinois Supreme Court in\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/illinoiscourts.gov\/Opinions\/SupremeCourt\/2014\/115776.pdf\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">People v. Clark<\/span><\/a>, 2014 IL 115776 and <a href=\"http:\/\/illinoiscourts.gov\/Opinions\/SupremeCourt\/2014\/114852.pdf\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">People v. Melongo<\/span><\/a>, 2014 IL 114852, two unconsolidated cases, each held that the Illinois Eavesdropping Act is unconstitutional due to its violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>Whether or not Illinois will attempt to remain an \u201call party\u201d consent state or join the majority of \u201csingle party\u201d consent states remains to be seen.<br \/>\n<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.natlawreview.com\/article\/illinois-supreme-court-strikes-down-illinois-eavesdropping-law\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">Illinois Supreme Court Strikes Down Illinois Eavesdropping Law, <\/span><\/a>National Law Review (June 4, 2019).<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.natlawreview.com\/article\/illinois-supreme-court-strikes-down-illinois-eavesdropping-law\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">https:\/\/www.natlawreview.com\/article\/illinois-supreme-court-strikes-down-illinois-eavesdropping-law<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>Smartpens Help Students with Disabilities<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>For post secondary students with disabilities, Section 504 covers your right to reasonable accommodations to ensure full participation in educational programs and activities.<\/p>\n<p>You will find examples of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/smartpen-pilot-helps-students-with-disabilities\/\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">colleges and universities nationwide that approve smartpens as a perfect accommodation for students<\/span><\/a> &#8211; they also provide the pen.<\/p>\n<p>Your state and\/or your school may have specific guidelines for recording class lectures. If you are in post-secondary education, contact the Disability Services office at your school for more information or assistance.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><em>Re-edited from a post originally published 07\/02\/2012<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><strong>You may also like&#8230;.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a style=\"color: #993300;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/smartpen-pilot-program-helps-students-with-disabilities\/\">\u2018Smartpen\u2019 Pilot Program Helps Students with Disabilities<\/a><br \/>\n<a style=\"color: #993300;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/understanding-confidentiality-requirements\/\">Understanding Confidentiality Requirements<\/a><br \/>\n<a style=\"color: #993300;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/info\/priv.confid.observe.htm\">Parent Observations v. Student Confidentiality<\/a><br \/>\n<a style=\"color: #993300;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/parent-observation-in-the-classroom\/\">Parent Observation in the Classroom? Yes!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In my state, it is illegal to record people without their permission.\u00a0Is there an exception for students with disabilities who need to record class lectures for education purposes? Many students <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/is-it-legal-for-a-student-to-record-class-lectures\/\">Continue Reading \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25127,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[53,602,164],"class_list":["post-7087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-accommodations-modifications","tag-accommodations","tag-livescribe-pulse-pen","tag-tape-recording"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7087"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7087\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25132,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7087\/revisions\/25132"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}