Technology

TX School District to Track Students Through I.D. Cards, Parents Express Privacy Concerns

San Antonio School District Approves ID Card Tracking Pilot Program to Increase Attendance and Save Funding

Different styles of RFID chips. (Photo: Wikimedia)

The largest school district in Bexar County near San Antonio, Texas, is making plans to alter student I.D. cards by next fall to include tracking technology that will, in essence, make sure students aren’t skipping class. It’s a measure that has some parents concerned over privacy and saying teachers — not technology — sure be ensuring students are not leaving school during the day.

San Antonio Express-News reports the school board for the Northside Independent School District, which has about 100,000 students, unanimously approved including Radio Frequency Identification System (RFID) tags on ID cards. As of right now, the plan is to test the use of the technology at only a couple schools totaling about 6,200 students before implementing it at all within the district.

Here’s more from the Express-News on the intent of the technology:

“We want to harness the power of (the) technology to make schools safer, know where our students are all the time in a school, and increase revenues,” district spokesman Pascual Gonzalez said. “Parents expect that we always know where their children are, and this technology will help us do that.

Chip readers on campuses and on school buses can detect a student‘s location but can’t track them once they leave school property. Only authorized administrative officials will have access to the information, Gonzalez said.

“This way we can see if a student is at the nurse’s office or elsewhere on campus, when they normally are counted for attendance in first period,” he said.

Parents are being notified by the district if their child’s card will be included in the pilot program of this system. Although some parents consider the tracking worth it to quell safety concerns, others don’t believe it should be doing the job of teachers in keeping tabs on students.

“I would hope teachers can help motivate students to be in their seats instead of the district having to do this,” grandmother of an eighth grade student Margaret Luna said to the Express-News. “But I guess this is what happens when you don’t have enough money.”

The cards cost $15 each, which if lost the parent and child will need to incur in order to replace it. The pilot program is reported to cost a half a million dollars to implement and about $136,000 to run each year, but officials say they believe it will pay for itself, citing improved attendance at other schools using similar technology.

KENS news states that poor attendance results in a loss of $175,000 per day in state funding:

The district bean-counters expect to gain more than $250,000 in attendance revenue from the state, and $1.2 million from Medicaid, because the district will be tracking special-needs kids, too.

Watch the report on this program:

The Express-News points out that the American Civil Liberties Union helped prevent a California school district from implementing a similar program in 2005. The Huffington Post states the ACLU has its “concerns” about the San Antonio school district‘s pilot program but it hasn’t made contact with them yet.

(H/T Huffington Post)

Comments (71)

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  • USANUMBERONE
    Posted on May 31, 2012 at 11:53am

    Could they track the teachers and all staff as well. I mean all school employees. For instance when a teacher has a too close relationship with a student. This could discourage this from happening. You could monitor them all the way to there home, and say its for their safety. Someday monitor everyone every citizen to make sure their safe.

    Report Post »  
    • Wildape
      Posted on May 31, 2012 at 12:54pm

      Just when you think that no one could possibly be that ignorant…..you come along. I know that the teaching profession has attracted some notable dirtbags and because they work with children it is doubly appalling when it happens. The vast vast majority of the teachers whom I work for are as honorable and good as the professionals I served with in the military. Most student problems I see are a growing population of unaccountable, selfish, and undisciplined children.

      What I would rather see is students who misbehave must provide some community service work–clean the schools, pick up trash, etc. Hard work builds character.

      Report Post »  
    • brntout
      Posted on May 31, 2012 at 1:18pm

      @WILDAPE I remember cleaning the chalkboards,plus a whack or two on the buttocks for misbehaving as punishment….Then the dreaded phone call to home…..

      Report Post »  
    • cykonas
      Posted on May 31, 2012 at 1:55pm

      @ USANUMBERONE

      With all due respect the only certain outcome of giving any government more power is that said government WILL abuse that power and then look for ways to garner further power.
      Our schools are government. Our police are government. Our courts are government. And the other institutions that aren’t directly part of the government are quasi-government because they either forced to take money from the government or are regulated by the government. There hasn‘t been a true free market in this country since the very early 1900’s,

      How about we don’t allow them to track anyone! Not students, not teachers, not administrators, not anyone. And did you notice who’s the puppeteer in this case? It’s the Federal government. If the schools don‘t have the attendance numbers they lose MONEY because that Fed won’t give them their full share. Here’s a question that I hope you can answer for me. Why is the Federal government in charge of doling out money to local school systems based on attendance, or any other criteria for that matter.

      Oops, I already know that answer. Because most of us have been ASLEEP for the last several decades and they gave themselves the right to do it. And we did NADA!! Don’t give them one more ounce of power. Let’s start demanding it be returned to the States and the People. (See Amendment X, US Constitution). Peace

      Report Post » cykonas  
    • lukerw
      Posted on May 31, 2012 at 2:09pm

      FASCISTs… to the Left of me… FASCISTs to the Right of me… I’m in the Middle between a Rock and a Crazy Place!

      Report Post » lukerw  
    • USANUMBERONE
      Posted on May 31, 2012 at 3:50pm

      I hope wildape is not thinking about slave labor. Whats ignorant about safety?

      Report Post »  
    • USANUMBERONE
      Posted on June 1, 2012 at 11:24am

      Look what happened in New York, student wins on a bet to make out with a school teacher (school employee). If everyone is monitored this could not happen. It would be like mom watching us.

      Report Post »  
    • USANUMBERONE
      Posted on June 1, 2012 at 3:33pm

      CYKONAS,Thats a nice looking dog you have.

      Report Post »  
    • Anonymous T. Irrelevant
      Posted on June 1, 2012 at 4:52pm

      Maybe they haven’t heard of the 4th Amendment?

      Report Post » Anonymous T. Irrelevant  
  • NineteenEighty4
    Posted on May 31, 2012 at 11:50am

    Why not give them armed military drones instead? We already have the approval and budget for that, apparently. When they skip they can be marched right to prison with the rest of the like-minded murderers and rapists and drug dealers.

    Report Post »  
  • Mikev5
    Posted on May 31, 2012 at 11:45am

    Just another way to suck more money out of parents pockets just how many of these cards do you think your kid will lose each year? My guess 3 or 4 X $15=$45 X 2,000 kids a year =$90,000 a year WOW BINGO new revenue coming in that’s a hidden Tax people wake up and grow some brains all they are doing is moving a cost back to the Tax payer and calling it another name hoping you are too stupid to notice.

    Why do we the people keep getting taxed to death to make it easier for the people that should be doing the job in the first place???

    Report Post » Mikev5  
    • Mikev5
      Posted on May 31, 2012 at 11:56am

      What about the hassle getting a new card could be? Will a parent need to rush to school to get a new card for little Billy every time he loses his card because proof of who the kid is needed before a new card is issued to the kid? Just how many trips do you think you may end up taking each year?

      This is a monstrosity how much more can we make a kids life become like prison and Wow NO we can’t make illegals carry cards to prove they belong here but it’s ok to force our kids to need them?

      Think on that one.

      Report Post » Mikev5  
  • jungle J
    Posted on May 31, 2012 at 11:43am

    bad students = bad parents most of the time…roll me another reefer Johnny.

    Report Post »  
    • Cemoto78
      Posted on May 31, 2012 at 4:35pm

      Right on the money. I could see a program like this being voluntary, but never mandated. As someone previously stated, when never you allow the government any power the will abuse it and seek more.

      Report Post » Cemoto78  
  • TheFormerlyInvisibleMan
    Posted on May 31, 2012 at 11:27am

    Surely no administrator would dream of cloning the cards and putting them in the classrooms to ensure their students were counted as ‘present’ to increase their revenues.

    Report Post » TheFormerlyInvisibleMan  
    • BIgWheeler
      Posted on May 31, 2012 at 12:17pm

      I like the way your mind works. I can imagine the day that they’re audited and there are 4 kids and box of cards in the classroom.

      Report Post » BIgWheeler  
  • biffo
    Posted on May 31, 2012 at 11:27am

    authorized administrative officials……HA!
    Today this desciption includes the radical homosexuals, feminists, communists, drug addled obamists, union bullys, who own the public school systems today. Why any parent sends their children to government schools is beyond me.

    Report Post »  
  • zoro51
    Posted on May 31, 2012 at 11:25am

    can we say MARK OF THE BEAST 666… why TRACK kids??? for what reason??? THATS the question to ask.. demand it form school school board n form goveners office WHY what reason for this.. then FIRE those who want this to END the raping of our rights.. kids rights.. BIG BROTHER was 1984 NOT 2012…

    Report Post » zoro51  
  • TheFormerlyInvisibleMan
    Posted on May 31, 2012 at 11:25am

    All the teacher has to do is collect all of the ID’s and put them in a bowl on their desk for the remainder of the year . . . PERFECT ATTENDANCE!

    http://www.CafePress.com/GadsdenFlags

    Report Post » TheFormerlyInvisibleMan  
    • USANUMBERONE
      Posted on June 1, 2012 at 3:23pm

      We would not have to build large schools any more, just big enough for the monitored id cards to fit. Why
      even build schools, they could take classes on home computer.

      Report Post »  
  • misslyss87
    Posted on May 31, 2012 at 11:23am

    It‘s not the teacher’s job to make sure students are at school, their job is to teach. If attendance is an issue, that’s administrative and parental problems.

    Report Post »  
  • Dale
    Posted on May 31, 2012 at 11:22am

    I would be inclined to leave the card in my government-provided locker.

    Report Post » Dale  
  • gingerbread
    Posted on May 31, 2012 at 11:20am

    That is the best argument for homeschooling that I’ve ever heard of. What have I been telling everybody. In the government schools, the only thing they are worried about is the money each student brings into the school. The hell with educating any one, it’s the money. This is whay they are against any kind of Private schools, Home schooling or any other different kind of education.

    Report Post » gingerbread  
  • jeanmchambers
    Posted on May 31, 2012 at 11:18am

    Just another attack on you and your child’s Constitutional rights and another power grab at controlling you.

    Get your children out of the ‘Public’ socialist schools!!!!

    Report Post »  
  • objectivetruth
    Posted on May 31, 2012 at 11:16am

    These god forsaken despots.The only damn thing they care about is money.How dare you attempt this.You arrogant b’s.Safety my fanny.Wonder what pedophile convinced them this is a good idea..I can see it now the local school employed pedophile now has a way to track their victims.Perverts thought pattern Oh yes what a captive audience of would be victims I now have.They can’t get away without being punished.Either way the pervert wins.Did anyone think this through beyond the bean counters?No of course not.You would see the inherent dangers involved.Destruction under the ruse of safety.Filth and more Filth.

    Report Post »  
  • Watcher1952
    Posted on May 31, 2012 at 11:13am

    Here we go again with wasted school money….What happened to the roll/attendance call at the beginning of each class……that will say if the student is in class or not……if they are not then there needs to be a written excuse. Teachers should be bright enough to tell forgeries……if not then I would not want them teaching my children…..we need to give back control of our classrooms to the teachers…..if they are a bad educator then fire them and hire a good one….kick the unions out of our classroom also…they have no business there

    Report Post »  
  • thekuligs
    Posted on May 31, 2012 at 11:10am

    Who the heck cares of the kids skip school? Oh wait, the school district does because they get funding that way. If kids don‘t want to learn we shouldn’t waste money trying to make them–because they will not. You are not going to change habbits the kids develop before Junior High. You are not going to make them scholars if they, or their family don’t demand that they be. Funding should not be tied to the number of butts in a seat but how the kids do that want to be there. Education is not a RIGHT it’s a priviledge. If we treated it like that we’d be better off–and we wouldn’t have the backwards school districts trying to solicit more funding through such unscrupulous means.

    Report Post » thekuligs  
  • AmazingGrace8
    Posted on May 31, 2012 at 11:05am

    Saw this news on The Five yesterday & many on the panel approve of this “tracking-devise”. Sure it is a more dangerous world but something is just “wrong” about what messages young adults are getting from society, especially parents who approve of this tracking. Complaints about “why” kids are the way they are today & to me it is a matter of TRUST. The continual theme is “keep-the-kids-safe”. This is a FALSE INDOCTRINATION. False safety nets are being created & kids are being trained to think there is ALWAYS a safety net. As a parent, you teach them survival skills & then place a “trust” they will do the right thing. People are rolling their eyes, but secretly, it gives a kid more “self-worth” if they know the parent trust them. Kids are being taught that no one “trusts” their judgement to seek-out their life’s journey. The ban on farm kids under the age that gov. proposed & backfired because farm kids are more “savvy” because their parents “trust” them. Inter-city kids are taught to be street savvy, trouble sure but at least they trust their instincts & are “free”. Bad choice to point out but there has to be a “built-up” of TRUST. Kids today are being “frozen-in-time”. The world watches and waits.

    Report Post »  
    • WhisperingVoice
      Posted on May 31, 2012 at 11:21am

      My dad didn’t trust me. That was what kept me in line. He didn’t track me, because he knew I was more scared of getting in trouble at home than of being stupid out and about. Get bad grades, I was grounded, no phone, no TV, nada. I do something stupid, grounded and a couple of swats. When I hit HS. Grounding were still there, as was loss of vehicle, and playing is sports. I’d still practice, but I couldn’t play. Having a parent more interested in results than being a friend resolves 90% of behavior issues. Nothing schools can do about it.

      Report Post »  
    • Sugabee
      Posted on May 31, 2012 at 12:33pm

      Whispering: Unfortunately, as a parent, I have first hand knowledge that you can do all of the things your Dad did for you on some children and they STILL don’t care. My oldest is being raised in the same manner as his two younger brothers, and he does not respond to groundings, loss of privileges, spankings (well, too old for that now). He just does what he wants, regardless of his upbringing. God gave us all a free will, including recalcitrant teenagers. I guess I’m in the 10 percentile of your estimates. :(( Not hating on your comment; just sayin’.

      Report Post »  
    • cykonas
      Posted on May 31, 2012 at 2:12pm

      If one is willing to cede ones liberties for security (safety) one is most likely to end up with neither one. It applies to the liberties of your children as well. Please don’t be fooled notwithstanding whatever the talking heads on The Five told you to think.

      Report Post » cykonas  
  • VRW Conspirator
    Posted on May 31, 2012 at 11:04am

    yeah this is a little extreme…but how many of us have an ID badge at work with an RFID chip in it already….they are used to control access to entry points and secured areas in the building and allow the employer to make sure you are on site when you should be….

    now…instead of using this to track students, I would propose using it as an Attendance device. when the class starts, the RFID is scanned in every class to see who is present. 5 minutes later another scan to account for tardy students. if a student is somewhere else on campus, a staff member is dispatched to inquiry why. if the student is not on campus they are marked absent for that period.

    this is essentially what the district wishes to do but they are phrasing everything horribly wrong…
    the RFID could also restrict student access to buildings, parts of buildings, and classrooms that the student should not be in. the RFID could be used at events like sports and dances to verify the the student is actually a student and allowed entrance.

    and the argument that the teachers should be accountable for the location of the student…do you know how much time a teacher spends on attendance and discipline and quieting a class…roughly 20 minutes of the 50-55 minute period. no wonder out students are not learning….half of their school day is sitting while the teacher marks present, absent, or tardy, writing a student up for discipline, or telling the class to be quiet…

    Report Post » VRW Conspirator  
  • BlackCrow
    Posted on May 31, 2012 at 11:04am

    Good thing I do not have kids in school. The first ID card would be inserted into the school board president’s A$$. The second ID would be placed in the microwave oven for 30 seconds.

    The later is a quick and effective way of destroying RFID chips for anybody who would care to destroy an RFID chip.

    Report Post » BlackCrow  
  • kickagrandma
    Posted on May 31, 2012 at 10:54am

    NO!!!!

    Better idea: Let’s track the congresspeople who we hired to work FOR US who are NOT WORKING FOR US, but for themselves. Is there a session going on and our rep/sen isn’t present? Fire his/her arrogant butt on the spot.

    If all sen. and reps had to be present EVERY TIME they met, bills would be shorter….. no more back room deals…. TRANSPARENT GOVERNMENT….

    Oh, sigh, I get so tired of the swamp people and their perversions of everything.

    Hi, GOD…. here we are again saying, “THANK YOU for today, for YOUR presence and provision for us. In JESUS’ SWEET AND MIGHTY NAME, amen.”

    Now THAT’S AN IDEA whose time has come.

    Report Post »  
    • Gorp
      Posted on May 31, 2012 at 11:02am

      I’m wondering how a few seconds to a minute in a microwave would work. That should take care of the RFID chip, shouldn’t it?

      Report Post » Gorp  
    • kickagrandma
      Posted on May 31, 2012 at 11:21am

      @GORP~~~ great idea…. only, I‘d bet we’d (the students) would get called into the office to see why their chip suddenly went “offline”….

      Report Post »  
    • debkk9
      Posted on May 31, 2012 at 11:39am

      now that is a GREAT idea, having congress wear these…many of them show up only rarely if at all…that way if you miss too many (say 3) days…you are out of here. Also if you don’t show…NO PAY. Isn’t that how the school districts do it, you get paid by how many students show up?? There shouldn’t be any backroom deals, everything is out in the open and televised, all bills can be no more than 1 page long. EVERYONE has to read them before voting on them and NO earmarks whatsoever. If the bill cannot stand on it’s own, then don’t pass it….and put some people in that have some integrity and morals. Also TERM LIMITS…do your 4 years and get the hell out. Go back to whatever you used to do….NO LIFETIME APPOINTMENTS AND NO PENSION..YOU MUST LIVE IN YOUR DISTRICT and cut the pay to about 25% of what it is now….oh I almost forgot you get the same insurance we all have AND you get in the social security system…

      Report Post » debkk9  
  • brntout
    Posted on May 31, 2012 at 10:53am

    Does anyone remember the “Latch-Key” generation ,and where it has led us too? Wow,unintended concequenses has gotten us where? Bite my tongue has been a too easy thing to do, but now? Parents stop being stupid/moronic/complacent and guide your children,lest they become part of the Welfare/OCS state of mindset.

    Report Post »  
  • Temporal
    Posted on May 31, 2012 at 10:49am

    Note how many times an increase in state funding was citied as justification? Like with stoplight cameras, it’s not about safety, but revenue.

    “If we spend X dollars, we get Y more dollars from the state.”

    And education is their #1 goal– isn’t it?

    Report Post »  
  • copatriots
    Posted on May 31, 2012 at 10:47am

    Yes, I am quite sure THIS would never get abused. Track, track, track the kids.

    “I’ll get you my pretty and your little dog too.”

    Report Post »  
  • bharris0
    Posted on May 31, 2012 at 10:47am

    All someone that wants to skip a class has to do, is to giver their card to a friend in that class.
    Technology defeated and money wasted.

    I wonder if this is another “mark of the beast” ?

    Report Post »  
  • leasecommander
    Posted on May 31, 2012 at 10:45am

    Tell me you are kidding, the students will figure numerous ways around this expensive and fruitless waste of time and money. It sounds more like the administration is more concerned about the potential monetary loss than infringing on the students rights.
    Why don’t you just PUNISH the kids that skip school, wow, what a concept?

    Report Post »  
    • 79USMC83
      Posted on May 31, 2012 at 10:54am

      This is a test. This is a “Government Stupid” run test. That cost how much money? Next it will be WE THE PEOPLE’S driver License or national ID card with a chip to track our very movements. Oh but then they would know WHO is voting !!! Hum scratch that idea , the poor and minorities would be discriminated against. All about the MONEY !! Who really cares where the kids are !!!

      Report Post »  
  • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on May 31, 2012 at 10:42am

    Another perfect example of big brother/sister watching you.

    Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
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