Fairfax County School Board votes 12-0 to bar license plate readers from school properties

Event: September 25, 2026 · First reported: September 25, 2026 · 7 sources

On Thursday, September 25, 2026, the Fairfax County School Board voted unanimously, 12-0, to prohibit the installation, purchase or leasing of automatic license plate reader systems, including Flock cameras, on the roughly 200 properties owned by the Virginia school division. Superintendent Michelle Reid told the board that no Flock cameras are currently on Fairfax County Public Schools property and none were planned, making the measure largely preemptive. The policy excludes school zone speed cameras, bus stop-arm cameras and existing school security cameras, and the board amended the motion beforehand to make clear it covers ALPR systems generally, not only Flock devices.

Why this matters

The vote shows a school district drawing a jurisdictional line on surveillance technology before any deployment is proposed, a template other districts may reference. It also highlights the limits of such policies: the ban reaches only school board-owned land, not county property, public roads or nearby private businesses.

Key facts

Unanimous 12-0 vote covering about 200 properties of the nation's ninth largest school division.
Vice Chairman Kyle McDaniel, who introduced the motion, said the district is an educational institution, not a police department.
Superintendent Michelle Reid said no Flock cameras are currently installed on FCPS property and none were planned.
Existing school security camera footage is stored on Fairfax County servers and kept at least 14 days, with some recordings available up to 30 days.
No Fairfax County Police Department representatives spoke at the meeting; county police have previously backed Flock cameras as an investigative tool.

Timeline

September 25, 2026Fairfax County’s school board bans license plate reader systems from school property
September 25, 2026Fairfax County School Board bans all Flock-style cameras on school property

Sources

This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.

Fairfax County’s school board bans license plate reader systems from school property (WTOP News, September 25, 2026)
Fairfax County School Board bans Flock cameras on school property (FOX 5 DC, September 25, 2026)
Fairfax County School Board bans all Flock-style cameras on school property (NBC4 Washington, September 25, 2026)
Fairfax County School Board bans all Flock-style cameras on school property (NBC4 Washington, September 25, 2026)
Fairfax County School Board bans Flock cameras on school property (AOL.com, September 25, 2026)
Fairfax County School Board bans license plate readers from school property (WUSA9, September 24, 2026)
Fairfax County Public School board votes to ban Flock cameras on school grounds (AOL.com, September 25, 2026)

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About this record

BlockFlockNow documents reported incidents involving Flock Safety cameras and automated license plate readers: council votes, contract decisions, misuse by authorized users, lawsuits, audits, and community response. Every record is reviewed by a person before publication. New to the topic? Start with What is Flock?, find meetings near you, or learn how to request your town's camera records.

Updated October 9, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.