The President of the PL SA asks for an analysis of the use of monitoring in educational institutions

The President of the Personal Data Protection Office, Mirosław Wróblewski, asked the Minister of National Education, Barbara Nowacka, to present the results of analyses on the possibility of using monitoring in educational institutions in the light of the inter alia Education Law.

The President of the Personal Data Protection Office referred to the Ministry's plans appearing in the public space to examine the results of the use of monitoring in educational institutions and to conduct a legal analysis of the applicable provisions of the Education Law relating to this issue.

In his letter to the Ministry of National Education, the President of the Personal Data Protection Office indicated that when analysing video surveillance, the aspect of personal data processing, respect for the dignity and right to privacy of persons covered by the image recording should be taken into account. The Law on School Education (Article 108a(1) and (2)) does allow for video surveillance in schools, provided that it is necessary to ensure the safety of students and staff or to protect property. Decisions on the use of video surveillance are made by the school principal (after consultation with the teaching council, the parents' council and the student council). However, such monitoring, except in exceptional cases, cannot be used as a means of supervision and cannot cover certain rooms (m.in. those where classes take place, psychological support rooms or cloakrooms).

Bearing in mind the need to ensure respect for the above-mentioned goods, it seems necessary to use technical means that will prevent the recognition of persons subject to monitoring (inter alia the method of blurring the image). Therefore, in the opinion of the President of the Personal Data Protection Office, it would be justified to consider an amendment to Article 108a(3) of the Law on School Education, which would take into account the need to apply such measures.

The President of the Personal Data Protection Office also emphasises that the issue of personal data processing in educational institutions has been the subject of interest of both the Personal Data Protection Office and the Commissioner for Human Rights for many years (in 2019, the Personal Data Protection Office organised a webinar on issues related to this topic https://uodo.gov.pl/pl/213/646 ). As the President of the Personal Data Protection Office points out, video surveillance is an extremely invasive form of personal data processing, so the data controller should always thoroughly analyse the need for its use before implementing it. Schools are bound by the provisions of the GDPR and the regulations governing educational activities.

The President of the Personal Data Protection Office also reminds that monitoring directly affects the right to privacy of a child, so the controller should also consider whether the introduction of image recording is really necessary and whether other methods ensuring safety in schools would not prove to be equally effective, but at the same time less interfering with the privacy of children and young people.