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KANSAS CITY, Ks. (KCTV) – The Kansas City, KS, Public Schools Board of Education on Tuesday night will consider a pair of measures that would put cameras in the classrooms and increase access to NARCAN in case of an opioid overdose.

The camera policy would give students who can’t be in the classroom on any given day the chance to still see and take part in the lesson. Administrators believe adding cameras to the classroom will help rebound from the pandemic to increase teaching tools and address the unpredictability of students missing class.

Advocates for this measure say this addition would ensure equitable access to teaching. The lessons will be shared with students and in several classrooms around the district to create equitable opportunities for learning peer-to-peer with students within school walls.

While also providing help for the most at-risk students to experience live lessons, the district may have been forced to hire long-term substitute teachers.. Rashid Hoda, Director of Technology and Information Services, Dr. Zachary Conrad, Executive Director of the Department of Evaluation, Research and Assessment, and Deputy Superintendent Dr. Judith Campbell are leading discussions.

If cameras in the classrooms are approved, installation would cost the district $6 million.

The Board is also set to review the school district’s Narcan access policy.

Currently, the policy is to aid any person who may be suffering from an opioid overdose by following protocols and procedures by the district. Trained staff members are to take every reasonable effort, using Narcan and rescue breaths to revive someone on school grounds. Training is provided by the health department and trained registered nurses for those allowed to give the Narcan nasal spray that will be stored inside schools. School resource officers will carry Narcan with them at all times.

Signs and symptoms to look for include: pinpoint pupils, loss of consciousness, slow and shallow breathing, choking noises, slowed pulse, and more. It only takes three-to-five minutes without oxygen for brain damage to happen.

This will be the board’s third reading of the agenda item to put the life-saving spray in schools.

The Board of Education meeting is set for 5 p.m. Tuesday at the KCK Public Schools Central Office and Training Center, 2010 N. 59th St., Kansas City, KS. Click here to see a copy of the agenda.

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