Students protest surveillance equipment in schools

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - High school students opposed to the use of surveillance equipment in public schools protested outside of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Manhattan office Thursday.

They said they wanted to highlight $30 million in state grants being offered to schools for the purchase of surveillance technology such as video monitoring and facial recognition software.

The students are all members of the New York Civil Liberties Union's Teen Activist Project. Members of the group say the state should invest in mental health programs and other ways to address concerns about school safety instead of paying for technology that raises concerns about privacy and government surveillance.

The small group changed "counselors not cops" and held signs with messages like "support not surveillance" and "counselors not cameras".

The Associated Press contributed to this report.