we know where you are...

[valfaw]

not sure how I feel about this...

School Uses ID Chips to Track Student Locations

Students who refuse tracking reportedly can’t vote for homecoming.

The Student Locator Project, which launched on Oct 1. at a San Antonio high school and middle school and could be extended to as many as 112 schools, tracks student whereabouts using embedded RFID (radio-frequency identification) chips on student ID badges.

PC World reports:

“Unlike passive chips that transmit data only when scanned by a reader, these chips have batteries and broadcast a constant signal so they can track students’ exact locations on school property, down to where they’re sitting—whether it’s at a desk, in a counselor’s office, or on the toilet.”

Some parents and students are reported to have protested the program and at least a few students are refusing to wear the badges, which are required to be worn around their necks.

The students essentially need their badges with them at all times since they are necessary to perform ordinary student functions like access the library or cafeteria and participate in any extracurricular activities – such as voting for homecoming king and queen.

"I had a teacher tell me I would not be allowed to vote because I did not have the proper voter ID," one student told WND. "I had my old student ID card which they originally told us would be good for the entire four years we were in school. He said I needed the new ID with the chip in order to vote."

Bing: Read more news coverage about the controversy.

The district says the program is necessary to improve safety and track the number of students who attend the schools, which reportedly have high truancy rates.

MySanAntonio.com reports the pilot program will cost about $525,000 and another $136,000 a year to operate.

Tell us on Facebook: Do you think the school district has gone too far?

test drive for more extensive distribution???

I get it as a parent wanting to know where your kid is and what they are doing but at the same time this is more than a bit of big brother. It's one thing for me to monitor my kid by subscribing to one of the services but having a school/government keeping tabs I get bad thoughts of things not going well.

and as a student like I'd give two sh!ts about a homecoming vote vs. being tracked...

http://living.msn.com/family-parenti...3-9a771835aa9b

[bluerabbit0886]

Next step is use across the country for children and adults alike

[patrikman]

Before the tinfoil fedora brigade arrives, have any of you ever had a job with an ID badge? Student ID for college? It is far more common than most of you could imagine.

[valfaw]

Before the tinfoil fedora brigade arrives, have any of you ever had a job with an ID badge? Student ID for college? It is far more common than most of you could imagine.

this seems different, I think you missed this vital part...

"“Unlike passive chips that transmit data only when scanned by a reader, these chips have batteries and broadcast a constant signal so they can track students’ exact locations on school property, down to where they’re sitting—whether it’s at a desk, in a counselor’s office, or on the toilet.”"

[Elbows]

But...this is active, not passive. They're not swiping in or out of a location etc.

This is one of those technologies I have a hard time worrying about, as only stupid places that I wouldn't live would likely really ever embrace something like that. If I'm wrong, then God help us.

[ATL_Av8r]

The Harry Potter map predicted this

[Tornado2dr]

This seems like a gigantic waste of resources. That is my major gripe. Thousands upon thousands of dollars wasted for this nonsense, and what - you're going to force the kids to pay to replace their "lost" id cards or they can't attend school? Good luck with that.

I'd have an even bigger issue with it if they wanted to track extra-curricular activities off-campus

But this:

The district says the program is necessary to improve safety and track the number of students who attend the schools, which reportedly have high truancy rates.

Is a weaksauce reasoning. If they want to record attendance, then the kids need to swipe their cards in and out at classrooms, at the beginning or end of each day, etc. Nobody needs to know that when I was a senior in high school I had a ritualistic visit to the ****ter.
If you have that many problems getting kids to attend class regularly, no tracking id card is going to help. And Safety? What the hell benefit to safety could this possibly have?

[Hostile]

And Safety? What the hell benefit to safety could this possibly have?

A week and a half ago a senior from my high school went missing and was found dead a few days ago.

[Tornado2dr]

A week and a half ago a senior from my high school went missing and was found dead a few days ago.

Was it on school property? Because if not...I think he'd still be sol.

[Egz]

So, it gives better accountability of students entrusted to them. I don't see the problem.

"I need to speak to my son. I dropped him off this morning"
<half hour later>
"Uh, we can't find him"

[rich!]

dunno - really don't see a big deal (disclaimer: i have kids) and i grew up in small town/school (<250 in entire hs) but i can see the benefits with a large school. this is from someone who may or may not have skipped a lot of classes.

though the safety aspect has to be limited to where the rfid receivers are...

[ATL_Av8r]

Being sh|t scared of my Air Force father, I didn't skip school much. I would have made out like a bandit charging people a couple $$ per period to keep their IDs on campus while they skipped

[ogvr6]

Next step is use across the country for children and adults alike

this is the my first thought,and where does it end.This is only the beginning of the end...

But...this is active, not passive. They're not swiping in or out of a location etc.
And then someone out there will suggest that this should be done at the building or street or neighborhood that you live in..see where this could go....

This is one of those technologies I have a hard time worrying about, as only stupid places that I wouldn't live would likely really ever embrace something like that. If I'm wrong, then God help us.

Well I wonder how everybody feels about the T.S.A. at the airports now,has it gotten better...

things only are bad when they affect you directly and become irritating or an inconvenience...

there tightening the noose ....how much will it take before the outcry...

This seems like a gigantic waste of resources. That is my major gripe. Thousands upon thousands of dollars wasted for this nonsense, and what - you're going to force the kids to pay to replace their "lost" id cards or they can't attend school? Good luck with that.

I'd have an even bigger issue with it if they wanted to track extra-curricular activities off-campus

But this:


Is a weaksauce reasoning. If they want to record attendance, then the kids need to swipe their cards in and out at classrooms, at the beginning or end of each day, etc. Nobody needs to know that when I was a senior in high school I had a ritualistic visit to the ****ter.
If you have that many problems getting kids to attend class regularly, no tracking id card is going to help. And Safety? What the hell benefit to safety could this possibly have?

all of this sounds like a way of controlling people and getting them at an early age to do things without questioning them.
just because the government says so...
how may of these government things do you think will get reverse once their implemented ...

[xombiesarelove]

Can't vote for homecoming? How effective of a threat could that possibly be? Now if the threat was to ban pizza fridays I'd let them install the damn chip in my head.

[Hostile]

Was it on school property? Because if not...I think he'd still be sol.

Apparently he was on school property the morning he disappeared but no one knows for how long.

[pdoel]

A week and a half ago a senior from my high school went missing and was found dead a few days ago.

Chances are, a chip would only have helped them find the body faster. It wouldn't have saved his life. By the time they realized he was missing, found his location and tracked him down, he more than likely would have already been dead.

[roadtripper]

chipped cars and IDs and and phones, oh my!!!

i organized a protest at my first job when they instituted mandatory electronic swipe cards. my argument was that i didn't get a college degree to punch a $#%! clock.

we lost, a local union caught wind and moved in on other, similarly specious grounds, and i voted with my feet. i learned some things work better with an opt out option.

the world is a vampire. and y'all smell so sweet.

[Preppy]

You can turn it down... but not off.

[rich!]

i organized a protest at my first job when they instituted mandatory electronic swipe cards. my argument was that i didn't get a college degree to punch a $#%! clock. .

right to work state? salary or hourly? makes a huge difference but not on par with school kids + rfid tags.

--

maybe they should have taken a simple step approach - rfid hall passes or swipe to enter classrooms.

but the whole thing comes down to funding

One reason the school district decided to try the tracking badges was to get state funding. “Because budgets are tied to average daily attendance, schools lose cash—as much as $175,000 a day—if students aren’t in their seats when homerooms do roll call in the morning. However, if the student is on campus, they’re technically present,” states the website ChipFreeSchools.com.

The two schools have a high truancy rate and the district hopes to garner an extra $2 million in funding by cracking down on errant kids.

One has to assume the schools are interested in actually educating the students, and there’s no doubt that education will be more effective if more students are attending class. In addition, if state fiscal support remains high, the district certainly have more resources with which to educate students more effectively. And the Northside website that provides information about the “’Smart’ Student ID Cards project” makes a reasonable point. “Our students' parents expect that we always know where their children are in our schools,” it says.

“A federally funded preschool in Richmond, California, began embedding RFID chips in students’ clothing in 2010. And an elementary school outside of Sacramento, California, scrubbed a plan in 2005 amid a parental uproar. And a Houston, Texas, school district began using the chips to monitor students on 13 campuses in 2004.”

real issue is what they do with the data - if the reporting is transparent and only used to determine X # of students on campus then so what but if they start correlating the data to habits/kids/groups then a problem.

[GeoffD]

Before the tinfoil fedora brigade arrives, have any of you ever had a job with an ID badge? Student ID for college? It is far more common than most of you could imagine.

I've had jobs where some moron decided employees needed to wear them and everyone revolted.

"I don't have to show you any stinkin' badges"

[NoDubJustYet]

Being sh|t scared of my Air Force father, I didn't skip school much.

This.

[Robstr]

So, am I getting this right, people get upset when jobs switch to electronic swipe cards for access?

Someone is going to have to explain why that isn't the most inane "but...but...PRIVACY" nonsense I've ever heard.

[roadtripper]

no, you're not getting it right. someone's not going to explain it to you because it's already been written on the board. pull your pants up. have some pride in your self.

[92skirmishgti]

Just make a copper mesh screen holder for it and you good....

[SpiffyGTI]

"Mr. Sams? Mr. Sams!!"

[BluMagic]

no thanks, i didn't skip class because I didn't want my grades to slip. That was reinforced by my parents.

Ensuring they are in class does not ensure they are learning. it is a waste of money and it is just going to give dumb ass parents another excuse to blame schools teachers.

"LOOK MY SON WAS IN CLASS EVERYDAY AND HE STILL FAILED, WHAT ARE YOU DOING WRONG TEACHER THE TEST MUST BE IMPOSSIBLE"

[rich!]

Ensuring they are in class does not ensure they are learning. it is a waste of money and it is just going to give dumb ass parents another excuse to blame schools teachers.

more about the districts not losing money (and obtaining more funding) vs education ( 175k per day loss vs 135k per year operational costs )

[GreenandChrome]

no thanks, i didn't skip class because I didn't want my grades to slip. That was reinforced by my parents.

Ensuring they are in class does not ensure they are learning. it is a waste of money and it is just going to give dumb ass parents another excuse to blame schools teachers.

"LOOK MY SON WAS IN CLASS EVERYDAY AND HE STILL FAILED, WHAT ARE YOU DOING WRONG TEACHER THE TEST MUST BE IMPOSSIBLE"

It has nothing to do with learning. SDs get money for attendance.

Sure, this technology would be nice if something ever goes wrong. But if it only works on school grounds, that's ok. But I don't think the students need to wear it like cattle.

But I grew up in a safe place and thought it was important to go to school.

[patrikman]

this seems different, I think you missed this vital part...

"“Unlike passive chips that transmit data only when scanned by a reader, these chips have batteries and broadcast a constant signal so they can track students’ exact locations on school property, down to where they’re sitting—whether it’s at a desk, in a counselor’s office, or on the toilet.”"

I didn't miss anything, I wrote a paper on smart ID cards spring semester last year.

[Robstr]

no, you're not getting it right. someone's not going to explain it to you because it's already been written on the board.

You're referring to this?

my argument was that i didn't get a college degree to punch a $#%! clock.

So it is just inane bull****. I guess you didn't need to clarify. Sorry.