The Little Rock School District wants to install 200 security sensors in its school locker rooms, devices capable of picking up vape smoke, fighting, vandalism and even someone shouting for help. The district has applied for close to $1 million in federal funding to make it happen, with the money expected to also cover 100 warning signs alerting students and staff that the devices are in use.
Nearly $1 Million Request to the Justice Department
Linda Young, the district’s director of grants, told the Little Rock School Board that the district applied for close to $1 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. The grant application is meant to support both the purchase and installation of the sensors, and the district plans to use the funds to put up 100 signs notifying people that the devices are in use. If approved, the grant would cover 90% of the costs to install the sensors and signs, per the same report.
William El-Amin, the district’s director of safety and security, said the planned sensors can detect THC smoke, vaping, fighting and vandalism noise, and emergency words including help. He said the sensors will be capable of notifying building staff, for example, upon detecting vaping. District staff may also access the recordings when investigating specific incidents, such as a parent’s complaint, the station’s report notes. El-Amin added that there hasn’t been, to his knowledge, any privacy issues as it pertains to the audio coming from the locker room.
A State Law Born of a Bullying Scandal
The push comes as the district works to comply with Act 908 of 2025, commonly known as Eli’s Law, which requires Arkansas public school districts and open-enrollment public charter schools to install audio recording devices in every locker room and changing room beginning with the 2027-28 school year, according to Act 908 of the Regular Session. The law also requires a sign in a conspicuous place in each locker room and changing room notifying individuals that a recording device is present. Eli’s Law was passed in 2025 in response to a 2024 bullying scandal involving Quitman Junior High’s football team, where students reported locker-room bullying and sexual harassment including humping, whipping, and shooting with BB guns, the Democrat-Gazette’s reporting shows…