Is a public school conjoined to a city park not in session considered a public place where one can film?

Is a public school not in session the same as a public place I.E: a park where one can film/photograph provided no students are in the images or video.

This is a question about an indie no budget documentary film. Not a commercial film.


There is a park conjoined to the school a public city park. Further no identifying information like names, signs, or streets about the school is shown.

http://www.helpwantedflick.com and http://www.roxhart.com

If you are asking if you have the right to shoot pictures of the public school, ON their property, without permission, then the answer is "NO".

If you are asking if you can shoot a picture of the public school from a public sidewalk across the street, the answer is probably a qualified "YES". There are nuances of the laws on this, with local variations, but as a general concept you are within your rights, so long as any appropriate permits have been issued. As a private individual, rather than a commercial entity, you have somewhat wider rights in this regard. You should google the Photographers Rights card. It can't promise you won't be hassled or even arrested by ill-informed lawmen or witless security guards, but you'll have a better understanding of where you stand from a legal perspective when you decide to push a situation, and it may help you make a cogent argument to whatever self-appointed Jack Baur thinks they have nabbed a terrorist scout or whatever. Though I find that talking to these people is like talking to Vogons. They only listen to their own superiors, not reason. In the modern climate, people are overly cautious about anything to do around schools, they tend to err on the side of ultra-conservatism and reactionary behavior in the light of some vague perceived "threat", and you have to have more than just rights on your side.

Well, there's plenty of samples on YouTube of people getting arrested for videotaping the cops at a distance from their own yard or porch or even indoors thru a window. Sometimes, the judge rules in their favor and some times, they even get amodest payday out of the whole episode, when the cops settle or pay a fine for doing wrong. Being right won't stop them arresting you. Being right and gettign arrested and missing the shot you were trying to get, also doesn't put food on your table. It only helps later when you get hauled before the judge to explain yourself, then if the cops didn't follow the law or protocol, and you can prove you did, and that you were within your rights, the case gets tossed and you get vindicated, hooray... But you still have the bruises from the cuffs, the dented camera in the evidence locker, and the nice memories of the holding cell and the expense of getting a lawyer.

The answer to your question is: NO!

Public Schools not-in-use are not public spaces. You cannot legally jump any fences or walk through any gates at any time without permission from the school principal.

You cannot (legally) aim your camera at the public school not-in-use without permission from the school principal.

You cannot (legally) screen your footage of the public school not-in-use without permission from the school principal.

Custodial Care laws are what give the principal a lot of power over the school's health, safety, and welfare.

Long story short: Call the principal and ask for permission.