'The 'Camera Law' in Kindergartens was approved today (Tuesday) in the second and third readings in the Knesset plenum, and entered into the law book.
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Until today, the cameras that documented what was happening in kindergartens were closed-circuit and the possibility of viewing them was limited to the police or the Ministry of Education, with the filing of a complaint only.
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The new law allows for the first time the installation of cameras that will broadcast online - in kindergartens for children ages 0-3.
Access to the cameras will be granted only to parents or legal guardians, and will be enabled via the parent's mobile device. This way, parents will be able to know that their children are safe while they are at the daycare.
However, the kindergarten teachers are not required to install online cameras - and the decision to install such cameras is up to the kindergarten director. The goal: to create competition in the market, with the more transparent the kindergarten is, the more demand it will have from concerned parents.
The mechanisms for installing the cameras and the options for parents to view them were enshrined in law with strict information security procedures in coordination with the National Cyber Directorate and the Privacy Protection Authority.
In addition to the online track, the law allows for two additional transparency tracks:
• Frontal viewing - The kindergarten director will allow a parent representative to come to the daycare area once a week or more and view the footage from the rear cameras.
• Monthly remote viewing - Once a month, the kindergarten director will open the cameras for remote viewing by kindergarten parents for 48 hours, during which they will be able to view the footage back.
Education Minister Yoav Kish said: "The bill approved today is an important step towards promoting transparency and security in the education system. The law gives parents the option to choose the level of involvement and supervision of their children, according to their personal preference, while maintaining a balance between privacy and transparency.
""The move will increase parents' sense of security and trust and strengthen the connection with the educational teams, who work every day with dedication to the safety and well-being of children. I thank MK Ofir Katz for promoting this important law.".
Naamat chairwoman Hagit Par told Channel 12 in response: "This is a populist law that will turn the dormitories and the children into participants in 'Big Brother - the toddler version.' Under the existing law, cameras can already be opened when there is suspicion of violence, God forbid - the new law will completely violate the privacy of all toddlers so that every parent will be able to watch over all toddlers at all times. This is in addition to harming the educational routine and turning all teams into 'potential suspects' in an industry that is already collapsing due to a shortage of manpower.".
