Texas School Issues Students Tracking Badges

NBC Nightly News (10/14, story 7, 2:25, Holt) reported that students at Northside Independent School District in San Antonio, Texas, "are among the first in the country to be assigned radio frequency identification badges." Principal Wendy Reyes "says by using new electronics embedded throughout the school, her staff can instantly locate any student in the building." The state gives the district $30 per student in attendance per day. Better attendance recording enables the district to receive more revenue because the school can now count students who are in the building but not in their chairs. Some students and parents have opposed the plan for religious reasons. Others, like the ACLU, worry that "the tracking capabilities violate privacy rights." However, the district "says attendance numbers are up since the system has been in place, so the badges are here to stay."