Parents Upset Over Lunchtime Palm Scanner

$300,000 system leads to privacy concerns.

By Rebekah_Schilperoort Oct 5, 2012 8:08PM

Parents of students at Carroll County schools in Baltimore say a new policy that scans kids’ palms to pay for their lunches goes too far.

With the PalmSecure system, students hover their hands over an infrared scanner that ID’s them by the unique patterns in their skin and registers a sale, according to a report from the Daily Herald.

The Herald talked to Mike Richmond, who has two children at a Westminster elementary school. He said the scanning started before parents were given the chance to opt out.

"I didn’t appreciate how they handled it. I’m concerned about it. I know it’s the way of the future, but it’s fingerprinting, it’s palm-printing."

The district said the goal is to decrease the time it takes to pay for lunches since the children have a limited amount of time to eat their meals.

The controversial system is operating in three Carroll County elementary schools with plans to expand to the whole district within a year. It’s also used in many other schools around the country where there have also been concerns about invasion of privacy as well as the cost of the system. Once implemented, PalmSecure will run the Carroll County district about $300,000.

Bing: Read more about the story.

Photo: Barbara Haddock Taylor/Baltimore Sun/MCT via Getty Images

More Family & Parenting on MSN Living:
51 Perfect Day Trips for Families
The Most Popular Baby Names of All Time
Top Names for the Top 10 Dog Breeds

< Back to The Family Room

2145Comments

Best

Oct 7, 2012 7:17PM

Aside from the creepy invasion of privacy, I would be concerned about germs. Each kid has to put there hand on the same scanner and then eat their lunch. Gross.

Previous replies

SinnSpenn

Oct 7, 2012 8:33PM

How about using the $300,000 to improve the QUALITY of food that kids are eating.

Previous replies

Someone

Oct 7, 2012 7:22PM

Let me guess, these schools can't afford new text books and make the students responsible for supplying the classrooms with paper towels and hand sanitizers but can afford to incorporate these high tech devices to track students.

Previous replies

Patsy Elephantlover

Oct 7, 2012 7:23PM

I am probably the only one who will think of this, but since I use to use something similar at my work, and realize how nasty these things get, I have a concern. The child puts his hands, that he will soon eat with, on top of where another child had their hand seconds earlier. Can we say GERMS being passed, and then those fingers putting food in their mouth? I use to watch the one at my job, and clean it off daily, as people would sneeze on their hands and then place it on there it sign in. Sad to say, I was the only one who cared about it then, and maybe now. YUCK!

Previous replies

The_Flu

Oct 7, 2012 7:23PM

So every kid in the school has to touch the thing before they eat? Kind of throws that whole "wash your hands before you eat" thing out the window, huh.

Previous replies

Devilboy_chris

Oct 7, 2012 7:19PM

So they are spending $300,000 to prevent the ocassional theft of a $2 lunch?

Lets just assume this machine prevents $10,000 of theft in a school district (Probley too much, but we will go with it). It will take 30 years just to break even from the cost of the system! This school does not have a very good return in their investment.

Something tells me they did not perform the standard business cost-benifit analyses.

Previous replies

Sm A

Oct 7, 2012 7:43PM

Why not just have bar codes on their student ID cards? Every school where I've lived, from kindergarten through highschool, the students have an ID card with a bar code so they can check out books from the library and log into the school computers. Why not just add the facet of paying for lunches that way? Then parents would not have to worry about and 'privacy' issues by what essentially is a biogenic reader/scanner, and the schools would have a fast way to get the kids through the lunchline.

This is really the school's fault though. Allow the kids enough time to actually eat their lunches without having to choke them down in 10 minutes. It's not healthy or helpful to their learning process.

Previous replies

Lulu Duncan

Oct 7, 2012 7:24PM

I am with the parents on this one. Children should not have to be finger printed or palm printed just to eat lunch in school. The school says it saves time on buying lunches...but I would think it would take more time....Scan your hand then buy your lunch..as opposed to buy your lunch...Looks like the government wants everyone fingerprinted before they are even old enough to vote or break the law...Can you say Violation of Civil and Privacy rights????

Previous replies

< 1 2 3 >

Parents Upset Over Lunchtime Palm Scanner

$300,000 system leads to privacy concerns.

family: tips, trends & advice for all things family