February 10, 2005 | A B C R F I D

Kim Zetter at Wired News has a story out today on a California elementary school that decided to track its students using RFID badges.

Problem is the school forgot to tell the parents what it was doing ahead of time.

Parents of elementary and middle school students in a small California town are protesting a tracking program their school recently launched, which requires students to wear identification badges embedded with radio frequency, or RFID, chips.

School superintendents struck a deal with a local maker of the technology last year to test the system to track attendance and weed out trespassers.

But students and parents, who weren't told about the RFID chips until they complained, are upset over what they say are surreptitious tactics the school used to implement the program. They also question the ethics of a monetary deal the school made with the company to test and promote its product, using students as guinea pigs.

"This is not right for our kids," said Michele Tatro, whose daughter received a badge. "I'm not willing for anybody to track me and I don't think my children should be tracked, either."

As you might notice in the story, the school claims the badges are for students' safety, but can't privide a good example of how the system actually protects students. They do have a good surveillance purpose, however, something even the principal admits when talking about the need to get as much money from the state as possible given the state's per-student-per-day funding basis.

What's even better is reading the parents' complaint to the school. These are not Marin hippies who have read one too many Counterpunch or Alternet articles without indulging in a grain or two of organic sea salt.

RFID is not new technology and is rapidly becoming the preferred method of inventory control in the retails sales and manufacturing industry. This technology allows for immediate inventory control and has even been reported to allow retailers to track consumers' buying preferences and spending habits. Even in this application many concerns have been raised by privacy protection groups about the complete invasion of privacy this technology allows. Yet, I can find no references of RFID being used to track elementary or junior high students in a California public school. Our children are not 'inventory'.

Education is about teaching respect and tolerance for each other. It is not 'big brother' monitoring every move, or children being made to feel they have fewer rights than criminals convicted of serious crimes.

'And he shall make all, both little and great, rich and poor, freemen and bondmen, to have a character in their right hand or on their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, but he that hath the character or the name of the beast, or the number of his name' (Revelation Chapter 13: 16-17). Have we reached the point where parents don't have any rights and schools will decide what is best for their children? Are not our moral convictions and religious beliefs protected? Do our children not have a right to a good education free from fear of retaliation.

The whole letter, including the parents' story of how they learned about the RFID chip in the badge (they protested the mandatory badge before they even knew the chip was in it), can be found here (.pdf)

One other thing, I'm guessing you'll be hearing from these parents for some time, even if the school capitulates.

Don't be surprised to see them on Capitol Hill testifying some day soon.

Think they won't have any cred?

Well, I hear tell that the three most vocal parents opposing the badges also all work in law enforcement.

Posted by Ryan Singel at February 10, 2005 04:13 PM

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.secondaryscreening.net/cgi-bin/mt-tb.cgi/116

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference A B C R F I D:

» Tempest in a Teapot from The Open Society Paradox
Ryan Singel over at Secondary Screening cites a story by Wired News writer Kim Zettner on RFID cards being used by a school district in California to track children. Throughout the article Zettner creates the impression that there is a... [Read More]

Tracked on February 12, 2005 08:36 PM