RFID Tags and California Pre-School Students

[CuttingEdge100]

California Students get Tracking Devices
URL: http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_1...nclick_check=1

RICHMOND, Calif.—California officials are outfitting preschoolers in Contra Costa County with tracking devices they say will save staff time and money.

The system was introduced Tuesday. When at the school, students will wear a jersey that has a small radio frequency tag. The tag will send signals to sensors that help track children's whereabouts, attendance and even whether they've eaten or not.

Doesn't this strike anybody here as being overboard?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

It sounds extremely creepy and invasive.

(Do the kids even *know* they're being tracked?)


BTW, that link doesn't work.

 

[Jetfire]

Thank you for visiting San Jose Mercury News. We are sorry the article that you requested is no longer available. Please search for this article in our archive search.

And yes it is a horrible idea, creepy & invasive.

 

[RobertVA]

Might have ansewered some questions about that missing boy in Washington state if they had been using technology like that.

There's also been recent incidents here in SE Virginia where young students were put on the wrong bus (and put off miles from home) and another that walked out the cafeteria's fire exit and found a couple of miles away. In that last incident some of those battery operated alarms that chime when the door is opened (they don't utilize a central control panel or monitoring service) were installed the next day.

Remember that we're talking about minors that need supervision to protect them from malevolent strangers and their own rebelliousness and inexperience. To a great extent the school faculty and bus drivers are acting in place of their parents during the day and need some latitude to protect students from other adults, themselves and each other. There might be a few instances where evidence obtained during searches or questioning might be limited to student/faculty safety issues and excluded from use in criminal proceedings against that student.

 

[sojourner]

It wouldn't have helped the kids on the wrong bus incident as these devices are only being used at the school. Which I have no problem with. There is no expectation of that level of privacy at school. Now if they take it a step further and the devices have audio/visual recording built in, that might be crossing a line. Then again, I actually think it would be a good idea to have cameras in the classroom just to drop the teacher said/student said version of events that can happen.

 

[bigdaddy]

Stupid idea that wouldn't work.

How does a shirt know if you ate?

You can give the shirt to someone else and still get credited for attendance.

It seems to me that the school is too lazy to actually do their job so they want shirts to do it for them.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Stupid idea that wouldn't work.

An ignorant statement with no evidence to back it up.

How does a shirt know if you ate?

Easy: your shirt is scanned as you pass through the lunch line. While it can't guarantee you ate, it can at least be certain you showed up and got your lunch.

You can give the shirt to someone else and still get credited for attendance.

It isn't about getting credit for attendance (at least not solely), it's about safety. Even though the original article is no longer available, the snippet the OP quoted even says this!

It seems to me that the school is too lazy to actually do their job so they want shirts to do it for them.

Or they're trying to put an additional safety measure in place to better keep track of the kids and avoid things like kidnappings and kids getting lost.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

First the children. What next?

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Actually, first it was pets.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

And like I said...Who's next? Slippery slope, I think. Could be anyone getting 'chipped'...and tracked.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Yeah, well, call me when people are being chipped against their will.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

No one's asking the kids, are they? So whoever comes next probably won't get a choice either. The 'mark' may be closer than you think...

 

[Jetfire]

I think parents should be able to opt in(out?).

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

What's really scary is that this whole thing with the kids seems, on the surface at least, to be so logical...oh yeah, 'won't somebody please think of the CHILDREN?', obviously they need to be tagged, yadda yadda yadda. But like I said: slippery slope. Surveillance of the kids today, surveillance of everybody tomorrow. Where does it end?

 

[Jetfire]

Before long you are going to need a chip to get into a Yankees game.

Or are the tickets chipped already?

Either way if I have kids...I am homeschooling them.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Before long you are going to need a chip to get into a Yankees game.

Or are the tickets chipped already?

No, just barcodes. But you can at least throw them away once you enter the stadium. So they can't track you or anything like that.

 

[Jetfire]

I see that changing...they are gonna want to know who you are cheering for, what kind of food & memorabilia you got.

Is Derek Jeter's jersey tagged??? I bet not.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

No one's asking the kids, are they? So whoever comes next probably won't get a choice either. The 'mark' may be closer than you think...

I don't know if you're aware, but kids don't really have a whole lot of rights. Parents get to make the vast majority of their decisions for them--especially when we're talking about little kids, as in this situation.

 

[Jetfire]

^
And it should be up to the parents. I can see the good that can come from it...but people have to take notice and be aware when it becomes abusive...the problem is...in general most people are oblivious.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

If this is being done without the parents' sign-off then I don't agree with it. I would point that out.