Texas lawmakers have introduced legislation that would prohibit the RFID tracking of students, citing violation of privacy and “dehumanization” issues.
Students in the Northside Independent School District were required to obtain new student ID badges containing radio frequency identification (RFID) tracking chips last fall as part of a program designed to help the school obtain more state funding by documenting the number of students in attendance. The badges are reportedly accurate enough to determine if a student is in their seat or elsewhere in the classroom.
One student, Andrea Hernandez, 15, and her family filed for a legal injunction late last year to prevent the school district from forcing her to wear the badge, claiming that it violated her freedom of expression and freedom of religion. However, federal district judge Orlando Garcia ultimately ruled against Hernandez and she was required to change schools.
“[The situation] first came to my attention when I heard about the court case and my first reaction was, ‘You gotta be kidding me,’” Sen. Craig Estes, a supporter of the legislation, said. “This RFID technology is very impressive when it comes to tracking cattle or products in a retail supply chain, but children aren’t products or cattle.”
Rep. Lois Kolkhorst, a co-author of the proposed legislation, expressed her concern that the technology could be “dehumanizing.”
“I really don’t like how parents don’t have much input and [I] think it is an example of government overstepping its bounds,” she said.
However, school official claim that safety is their number one priority.
“With all due respect to the legislators, the effort is probably misunderstood,” district spokesman Pascual Gonzalez said. “This is not about tracking students; it’s about locating students when we need to, within the four walls of the school. This is especially important when the security of the school is threatened.”
For more information, visit My San Antonio and Ars Technica.
Related story: Texas School District Requires Students to Wear Radio Frequency Tracking Chips
