Texas school strikes devil's bargain, drops RFID student tracking

Iain Thomson:

The Texas school that expelled a student for refusing to comply with its plan to track pupils with RFID tags has dropped the scheme, saying it just doesn't work.

In November, Northside Independent School District (NISD) in San Antonio, Texas, began a trial of RFID tracking for students in an attempt to cut down on truancy. The district gets extra funding if students don't skip out after the register is taken, so NISD spent $500,000 on its "Student Locator Project".

The school issued students with a lanyard containing the RFID system, and insisted that they be used to get full access to the cafeteria, library, and even some restrooms. One student, Andrea Hernandez, gained national prominence when she was suspended for refusing to wear the lanyard on privacy grounds and because it conflicted with her religious beliefs.

"I feel it's the implementation of the Mark of the Beast. It's also an invasion of my privacy and my other rights," she said at the time.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at August 2, 2013 12:30 AM
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