-Are Tracking Devices in School IDs Necessary?

By: Amber Smith

“To 15-year-old Andrea Hernandez, the tracking microchip embedded in her student ID card is a ‘mark of the beast,’ a sacrilege to her Christian faith - not to mention how it pinpoints her location, even in the school bathroom.”

On Wednesday, January 2, 2013 a state district judge ruled that the San Antonio Northside School District can put locator chips on its students and expel those who don't comply. http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/suit-targets-locator-chips-in-texas-student-ids-298186

When Andrea and her parents rejected the Smart ID, the school agreed to remove the chip, but she was still required to wear the ID. Her family didn't want her to wear it for religious reasons and filed a lawsuit claiming that it was blasphemous because the card still showed her participation.

In Texas, school funding is based on daily attendance. The number of students seated in homeroom when the first bell rings determines how much money a school receives from the state. “If a student is lingering in the hallway or is absent during roll call, it hurts the school's funding.” The smart ID’s pinpoint each student’s location, so when students cut homeroom or any other class, they can located.

I believe that it is wrong for the school to put tracking devices in the students' ID badges. Of course schools need money to function, and Andrea’s school has over 4,000 students, so attendance records are very important. But the system is vulnerable to attack by pedophiles, stalkers, and killers. This system is a danger to students. I don't blame Andrea for refusing to wear the tracking device. It is obvious that the school administration is doing this to get more money for each student that's in homeroom.

I think others didn't speak out because they were afraid. The system doesn't give the students any privacy. I wouldn't like it if this were to happen in the Virgin Islands.

Andrea was eventually expelled from school. “Of the 4,200 students, the Hernandez family is the only one who has opted out of the program,” said said district spokesman Pascual Gonzalez.