Legality of recording (audio) lectures in Public middle school in Texas?

[tsstromberg]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas

My son has ADD and written language disability. We are in the process of getting a 504 to help us receive accommodations to help him be more successful in school. Recently we purchased a LiveScribe ( Livescribe :: Never Miss A Word ) to assist him in note taking in school ( he attends a public middle school in Collin Co TX). I just received a call from the Asst. Principal that says he is not allowed to record lectures without the teachers permission or ALL of the students in his class. This is just another in a long list of hurdles we are facing trying to help our son succeed. My question is is it truly illegal to record a lecture in middle school? I recorded everything in college without having to get a release from all the students in the class. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[GaAtty]

GaAtty

It is not illegal, and it is a routine accommodation for students with disabilities, especially ADHD students. In fact, it is usually very helpful for ADHD students if used correctly. However, I am not going to say that the schools are cooperative in granting that accommodation. I have never known a parent (not represented by an attorney) who was able to be able to get the schools to agree to recording. I have succeeded several times when I have represented students in schools, but it was only with a lot of effort. In other words, can they legally say no? The answer is no. Will they easily say yes? Probably not. If they say no, then you need to get a good special education attorney. The federal laws that entitle him to the accommodation of being able to record (to help overcome his attentional and short-term memory deficits) will absolutely trump any "permission" needed from the teachers and any "privacy right" of the students (which doesn't exist, anyway). If you can't find a special education attorney, get a civil rights attorney (special education is just a very narrow area of civil rights law).