Tracking Schoolchildren with RFID Technology
By Nancy McCord
In a day and age when parents fear for their children's safety, one school district has decided to use modern technology to put those fears to rest. Officials state that efficiency is the main reason for the program, but it is hard to imagine that parental concern did not factor into the equation.
Earlier this month, the Middletown school district in Providence, Rhode Island enacted a pilot program that included putting RFID (radio frequency identification) chips in tags that will be attached to children's schoolbags. This initial trial run will include about 80 children (and their backpacks).
The primary reason for the use of this tracking technology is to track students who take the bus to and from school. The chips will record when students get on and off of the school bus, as well as showing the bus's position as it travels.
The ACLU has already cried foul.
The pilot program was by no means mandatory and parents were informed ahead of time and told who to contact with any questions. Middletown hopes that the program will foster better communication with parents. Parents involved in the pilot will be able go to a website to see when their child got on the bus and to see if the bus will arrive on time.
One official compared the program to programs that let parents check their child's attendance record or to see their child purchased for lunch. (Notice I said to see what the child purchased-there really is no way to know what a child actually ate for lunch.)
And isn't that the point-for all of our sophistication, life is still full of variables. A parent could be checking the website and see that according to the RFID, their child is still in school. At that same moment, the child could be walking through the door, having left the backpack in their classroom.
However, it is also possible that a child could be on a bus that had to take an alternate route because of a traffic accident. The parent who checks the website to see that the bus is going in a different direction can make calls to find out what is going on and be assure that their child is fine.