Ca. sch. makes students wear "radio-frequency identification badges"

[donsu]

http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?ItemID=18619


Treating students like cattle
A rural California school becomes the first to require students to wear tracking devices

-snip-

In rural Sutter, California, a town just north of Sacramento with a population of 2,300, a controversial new program has all of the students in the one-school district being forced to wear radio-frequency identification badges that can track the students. It's the same technology used to track cattle in feedlots, or product inventory in factories.

The badges, introduced at Brittan Elementary School in January, are defended by school administrators as making attendance-gathering easier. (You know how arduous THAT task is. It must be the hardest thing teachers do all day...) And, presumably, it can help find students who get lost on the way to the restroom -- at least, the ones without the wherewithal to ditch the badges. The badges are also supposed to "reduce vandalism and improve student safety," although it's not clear how.

Naturally, some parents -- who weren't consulted before the system was imposed -- and the ACLU are up in arms about this latest invasion of student privacy. Beyond the obvious, parents are also concerned that information encoded in the badge could fall into the wrong hands, or that the radiation from the badge might pose a health hazard to the kids.

-snip-

The motivation for this system is not entirely a mystery; it turns out that the company that makes the technology, InCom, is a local company co-founded by the parent of a former Brittan student. Some parents are suspicious of the financial arrangements between the district and the company, which hopes to market the technology nationwide.
-snip-
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fighting back is a life saving option

[Arkana]

1. Hmmm...welcome to Alcatraz High

[Hugin]

2. Moo! n/t

[liberal N proud]

3. I had a conversation with some ultra right wing nut about just that

These were church people that set up a scanner and badges for their Sunday school kids so they could tell who was there at any time. (we are talking about 50- 60 kids).
They thought it would be a great idea if there was a chip implanted under the skin of each kid and then they could tell when they were in the building.
I pissed them off really good when I told them I thought that sounded an awful lot like tattooing Jews in Nazi Germany.

[Stop_the_War]

4. i'm lost for words

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

[NYC]

5. Is this a second school?

About a week ago, there was an article about a school doing this, but the parents objected, and it was stopped. The company making and supplying the chips was "testing" them in that school. They withdrew quickly because of the controversy.

[seabeyond]

6. do they zap the kids if he/she steps out of line

coming next

[jdots]

7. Naturally InCom is part of NeoCom Inc.

One industry that is making out quite well under facism is the security (insecurity) bizz.Get those cameras and burlar alarms at
" Armagenon Brothers Survival Supplys " stock up for that next terror alert,be safe & sound with our special barbed wire and sand bag machine gun nest,don't forget our selection of new and used body guards.Be the envy of your prayer group with our patented Bunker/Bomb Shelter.
It is happening and not funny,the Hummer 2 options include a pretty scary list of security items.

[LeftyMom]

8. They already got rid of this

http://news.com.com/Elementary+school+nixes+electronic+IDs/2100-1029_3-5581275.html?part=rss&tag=5575731&subj=news

"An elementary school in the rural town of Sutter, Calif., has pulled the plug on a new student surveillance system after the technology came under fire by parents and privacy groups.

Brittan Elementary School, located about 40 miles north of state capital Sacramento, is shutting off the high-tech student-tracking system because the company supplying it backed out of the deal, the school said Tuesday. "