School Uses ID Chips to Track Student Locations

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

By Rebekah_Schilperoort Oct 9, 2012 5:59PM

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."

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.

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Photo: Barros & Barros/Getty Images

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