An example of a chest-worn police body camera. Some Iowa school administrators will be equipped with body cameras similar to what police wear to record their interactions with parents and students. File Photo by COBAN.

BURLINGTON, Iowa, July 7 (UPI) -- School administrators will begin wearing body cameras this year to capture interactions with students and parents, an unusual step aimed at upping the ante on "personal accountability."

The move at Burlington Community School District in southeastern Iowa, considered the first in the nation, is aimed at protecting both parents, students and school administrators by creating a record to review as needed, said Superintendent Pat Coen. It's the same rationale used by police departments when equipping officers with body cameras. Coen said body cameras set a high expectation for conduct.


"It's personal accountability," he told The Des Moines Register. "Did we treat this person with dignity, honor and respect? And if we didn't, why didn't we?"

Ken Trump of the National School Safety and Security Services likened the idea to "swatting flies with a sledgehammer" and called it a "substantial overreach."

"They're not in the dark alleys of local streets on the midnight shift," said Trump, president of the Ohio-based consulting firm. "They're in school with children."