Albany, NY – Assemblymember Monica Wallace (D-Lancaster) and Senator Brian Kavanagh (D-Manhattan and Brooklyn) announced today that their legislation (A.6787D/S5140B/) to pause use of facial recognition technology in schools pending further study has been signed into law. The law, which is the first of its kind in the nation, bars public and nonpublic elementary and secondary schools, including charter schools, from using facial recognition and other biometric identifying technology until the New York State Office of Information Technology and the New York State Department of Education have an opportunity to determine whether biometric identifying technology is appropriate in K-12 schools.

In recent years, several New York State school districts have acquired or sought to acquire facial recognition technology. At least one school district has already purchased and installed such a facial recognition system at a cost of $1.4 million. The technology was purchased under the Smart Schools Bond Act, which was originally created to improve student learning through investment in classroom technology, including the purchase of computers, tablets, and upgrading wireless internet connectivity. The Act was later expanded to include investment in school security.

Wallace and Kavanagh want the state to take a closer look at the investment in and use of biometric identifying technology, like facial recognition, in schools. They raise questions about the technology’s accuracy, effectiveness, and cost. 

“There are serious questions about equity and data privacy that need to be considered before spending millions of taxpayer dollars that might be better spent elsewhere,” said Assembymember Wallace. “This legislation will require the New York Office of Information Technology and the New York State Department of Education to study the issue and determine under what circumstances, if any, biometric identifying technology is appropriate for use in schools.”

“It makes no sense to bring this aggressive surveillance technology into our schools when no one has made a compelling case, either that it will meaningfully improve security or that it can be used without violating the privacy and civil rights of students, staff, and visitors,” said Senator Brian Kavanagh. “This law will ensure that State education officials review this technology and vouch for it before any young people are subjected to it. I expect that they will conclude that it is neither necessary nor appropriate in schools. I thank Assemblymember Wallace for her leadership; the students, families and advocates for effectively challenging the use of this technology; and the Governor for signing this important legislation into law.”

Numerous studies have found that facial recognition technology systems are less accurate when identifying children, women, and people of color. There are no statewide standards for accuracy or fairness, nor are there guidelines on how the technology can be used or who can have access to it. Recent reporting suggests that one vendor misrepresented the accuracy of its system, which was later determined to misidentify Black males 4 times more often than white males and Black females 16 times more often than white males. A Western New York school district relied upon those misrepresentations in purchasing the system. 

The moratorium will give state information technology and education officials time to carefully consider the issue of whether this technology can be used effectively and ethically in a school setting. The Office of Information Technology Services will be required to hold a public hearing and to consult with relevant stakeholders, including parents, teachers, school administrators, and experts on school safety and data privacy.

“The moratorium on biometric surveillance is a landmark piece of legislation that should serve as a national model to stop the proliferation of faulty, harmful facial recognition technologies in schools,” said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. “For children, whose appearances change rapidly as they grow, and for people of color and women more broadly, the accuracy of biometric technologies is highly questionable, and this unproven technology poses an especially serious risk. There is such an overwhelming need for resources in the classroom and for remote learning, and we hope this will be a part of a shift toward a model of education that centers students’ needs instead of subjecting them to suspicion and surveillance."

“Recent reports that a vendor misled school administrators on the accuracy and biases of its system illustrate the critical need for this legislation,” said Assemblymember Wallace. “We need to make sure that facial recognition doesn’t come with hidden costs, high errors, or other consequences, such as potentially compromising student biometric data. We owe it to students, faculty and staff, and taxpayers to study this technology and provide thoughtful guidance on its use.”