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Originally posted by DataDoc
Okay, I live in this school district and my son attends one of those schools. While I am not sure I completely support this program here are some FACTS:
1. The schools are HUGE - with 9,000+ students. Many of the schools in this district are larger than shopping malls.
2. This high school entails the Science and Engineering Academy, an Advanced Academics Program, and a separate Freshman Center. Many of these students attend dual-credit classes and/or AP classes. (My own son goes to off - campus college classes before returning to school for AP classes).
3. Because of students attending AP testing, TAKS (State mandated testing), various school programs, etc. students are often counted absent when they are, in fact, on campus. (I have fought with the attendance office several times to clear up "absences" when my son was taking a test on campus.) This program is intended to be able to identify (and then visually verify) the presence of students mistakenly counted absent.
4. That being said, these are ACTIVE ID cards - they contain batteries to power the chips. While the district says they are used only to track the students on campus, they do NOT deactivate when the student leaves the school. It is this property which is causing most of the protests. While I don't know if they possess the technology, the potential exists for the district police (each school district here has it's own police force) to be able to drive around and identify students off campus. (or at least where their ID is) By being active cards, they can be detected at a greater range.
5. These cards are very large. (3-4" wide, 5-6" long, and close to 1/4" thick). No one is going to carry it around if they don't have to (i.e. off campus)
6. School funding in Texas is very low and cut every year. The districts will do everything possible to get more money.
7. This also speeds up the lunch line by automatically charging the student's "lunch fund" as they go through the line.
8. This is a small issue as far as "Big Brother" in an area where schools have metal detectors, on campus police officers, and more cameras than you count; due to a very large gang population in the community.
Ultimately, these cards do nothing to prevent truancy, just verify that students who go are accounted for.
reply to post by RealSpoke
Maybe if they didn't make school so boring and repetitive kids would actually want to go. Career oriented high schools have a better attendance rate for a reason, you get to do what you have a passion for most of the day.
Originally posted by ninjas4321
A vision of your future america? Basically what is happening in a Texas school is they are trying to give the kids Id cards and some are refusing them citing that they are an invasion of privacy One child even said that they are the mark of the beast i don't know how she came to that conclusion but ok They are being punished by not being able to do extracurricular activities such as vote for homecoming court and they are also being threatened with suspension and expulsion from school if they don't wear there tracking devices
What are your thoughts on this? Is it the start of something bigger and is the school right for doing this?
www.huffingtonpost.com
(visit the link for the full news article)edit on 9-10-2012 by ninjas4321 because: (no reason given)
Originally posted by merkins
surely the sensible course of action would be to sneak your card and a pair of your undies into the principals bag and call the cops!
But seriously...you could comply and still be unmonitored by smashing the chip with a hammer or nuking it in the microwave. Thats what I'll be doing with my RFID UK passport when it arrives in a few weeks.
Originally posted by usernameconspiracy
reply to post by YAHUWAH SAVES
I call bs. So, your theory is that the federal government is rolling this out, but only in one school district in California, and ultimately in twelve throughout Texas? Really? Hogwash, I say!
And I've gone out of my way to be upfront here at ATS about my government employment. Doesn't have anything to do with this, but nonetheless... Neither the federal or state government is in charge of school id's.
How Close is Oklahoma to the Real ID? Much, much closer then it ought to be.
A Google photo search for “new driver’s license design” shows that many states, like Oklahoma, are getting new driver’s license designs. And like Oklahoma, the photos are all moved to the left. This isn’t a DMV fad. These standards come from somewhere. – 2012 AAMVA North American Standard – DL/ID Card Design
“AAMVA (the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators) is called the “backbone” and hub” of the Real ID Act in the final rules issued by DHS” Mark Lerner, testimony before the Michigan House of Representatives, 2008
Oklahoma – OKLA. STAT. ANN, tit. 47, § 6-110.3 (2007) (The State of Oklahoma shall not participate in the implementation of the REAL ID Act of 2005. The Department of Public Safety is hereby directed not to implement the provisions of the REAL ID Act of 2005 and to report to the Governor and the Legislature any attempt by agencies or agents of the United States Department of Homeland Security to secure the implementation of the REAL ID Act of 2005 through the operations of that or any other state department.
Originally posted by sean
Originally posted by usernameconspiracy
reply to post by YAHUWAH SAVES
I call bs. So, your theory is that the federal government is rolling this out, but only in one school district in California, and ultimately in twelve throughout Texas? Really? Hogwash, I say!
And I've gone out of my way to be upfront here at ATS about my government employment. Doesn't have anything to do with this, but nonetheless... Neither the federal or state government is in charge of school id's.
Your government employment? That's quite vague information right there. I can think of some pretty low government paid positions.
More comfortable than aluminum foil in your pants.
There's some seriously scary stuff out there in the world -- from bird flu and terrorism to depleting our planet of natural resources. There's not a lot that the average person can do about much of the things that may keep us up at night. Luckily, there's one scary prospect on the horizon that we can help with -- and it doesn't require lining your pants with aluminum foil! Aren't you lucky?
Imagine if you will, some of these possible real-life scenarios:
A shadowy character crouches unseen in the bushes. He doesn't have a gun or a knife, but he has a laptop. He watches as his prey walks by. Invisible radio waves emitting from the credit-card in his wallet get picked up by the laptop, recorded, and saved onto a cloned card. For all intents and purposes, this man becomes you, and has decided to go shopping.
Or maybe he picked up the passkey that lets you into your office building. With ease, he can now walk into your secure office building and steal your company's equipment. The next morning, security guards are waiting in your cube to have a chat.
The nightmare scenario was brought forth recently - a bomb lies waiting in a garbage can. Sensitive electronics read the identification cards and passports of the people who walk by, waiting until somebody of your nationality comes close...
It's a scary world out there. Credit card companies and governments are putting RFID chips in your cards and identification, sometimes without your knowledge. Protect yourself and your money with a wallet that specifically inhibits those radio frequencies from escaping until you pull your card out. Did we mention you don't need to put foil in your pants? It's important to us that you know that you do NOT have to put foil in your pants. Very important. No foil. In your pants... none... zip... nada.
The DIFRwearR RFID Blocking Wallet is a high-quality leather billfold with a built in Faraday cage to block RFID transmissions. It has room for six credit cards, your cash, business cards and your ID. Don't get caught unprotected.
t appears that the educational move to Big Brother-style monitoring is motivated mainly by money, despite privacy and health concerns