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Texas State Rep. Files 2 Bills To Ban RFID In Schools
BeatTheChip writes "The day Andrea Hernandez lost her federal case against expulsion for refusing a school mandated RFID badge, Rep. Lois Kolkhorst moved to file two bills on the first day of the Texas Legislative session. Kolkhorst has sponsored several anti-RFID bills for schools over the years. This year they are HB 101 and HB 102."
I mean, it's not like the kids have to be implanted with the badges. You can easily leave the badge somewhere if you want to go somewhere naughty. Is there something I've missed?
Finally some cents.
with crazy religious beliefs is backing other people with crazy religious beliefs.
I'm shocked.
These idiots are strangling our nations future.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
The large Texas schools have a 1 to 1 program (all kids have laptops). If they are not able to trace an object a kid wouldn't leave laying around why would they think they could trace something a kid would ditch first chance they get?
Having to work for a living is the root of all evil.
What do you think the school authorities will require after they find the youth doing just what you propose? Oh, that's right, they'll demand that the tags be implanted so they can't be easily "misplaced".
... she's a conservative Texas politician who actually wants to do something to curb the out-of-control expansion of statist government bureaucrats.
We need more like her. It's time to start shrinking this "Feed me Seymour, Feed Me!" little shop of horrors that our government has become before it devours all of our rights and liberties.
I love the blog comments:
http://beatthechip.blogspot.ca/2013/01/the-5-11-campaign-endorses-texas-bills.html
The first post is in favor of his campaign (johnfrombc compares RFID implantation to slavery) and the response is less than congenial. Either this guy is pro-slavery or he doesn't bother to read ...
Trying to ban RTFA? Sounds good to me.
Table-ized A.I.
I love how /. rightfully rails against the erosion of rights that occurred as a result of the decision in Andrea Hernandez' case, but then the first comments here are almost all attacking the bill's intent and the representative as being a religious nut from Texas. Whether that's true or not (I don't know this representative, so I couldn't say, nor have I read the article or bills) is irrelevant.
Religion doesn't always have to be against what the /. groupthink believes is right. In this case, religious nuts may be off-base, but they came to the right conclusion regardless. Even if their math doesn't add up correctly, we can all agree that it's the right solution.
*said by a deeply religious person who thinks the religious nuts in this whole mess really are nuts*
Ok, I am a geek, and I still have to admit having one big question about RFID: ...
1. Does RFID designate a *specific* wireless communication protocol (like Say WiFi 801.11n) with a specific frequency, power range, modulation and encoding technique, etc. or
2. Does it just mean close range wireless in general?
For example, Android phones that support "NFC" seem to support a specific NFC standard (listed in Wikipedia). Many Japanese Android phones in Japan do *not* support "NFC" (as in programs that support NFC won't install on them), but support Sony's Felica standard (called "Osaifu keitai" by Docomo), widely deployed in Japan and other places. I don't think the employee badge I use to get into my building at work is compatible with NFC smartphones or Felica technology, but I am certain that it's radio-wave based - so is that "NFC"?
The reason I ask is that I sometimes see NFC meaning a specific thing, and other times it seems to be a catch-all for any near range wireless. The term itself seems to be generic, rather than a trademark. This becomes important when you start making laws about it, because the schools could easily say "Ok, we'll use brand X local radio tags instead of NFC.", or even "ok, we'll use bar-coded tags or BlueTooth tags".
Whatever method they use, I personally don't have a problem with a school keeping track of attendance in an automated way - but they should have humans checking it too, since students can easily carry other students' ID cards.
some corporate crony has to provide all those badges! woohoo another way to suck the tax payer dry!
That's what private companies are for, if you want to track them just ask Apple or Google or Comscore or Omniture, kids/adults willingly carry around tracking devices with military based GPS hardware in exchange for shiny angrybirds/fart apps, no need for the gov to get involved, hell they know where every smart phone in the world is down to 15m and will tell you if you if you give them a dollar
RFID can have its place in schools, for young kids I think it's a great idea, for teens not so much. However another interesting point is that RFID tags could introduce a new level of security in schools. If you have 200 kids and teachers all armed with RFID tags then you can simply lock the doors for the day and not let anyone else in, why is this a good idea? Simple school shooters, they can't get in the school so potentially you create a safer environment. Another great feature is being able to detect if your kids is skipping school or not! No more attendance and calls home.
Now as for people who have privacy issues with it, I can understand where your coming from however when you want to argue it DO NOT QUOTE RELIGION! The entire issue I have with Andrea is that she tried to being her faith as a reason to not wear a badge. You can't use this kind of argument, if you allow it then you must allow EVERY SINGLE religion based argument with no issue. I could just as easily state that my religion states I must bring semi automatic guns into the classroom and as soon as I say that you have to allow it! Or I could say something like I don't allow people of color in the classroom, then you need to make accommodations. Hence why I think when you fall back to religion as an argument you don't make a good case.
If your arguments however are focused on privacy and personal space and all of that then you have a case to fight and I'll stand behind you. Pick logic over god and I'll stand there and agree with you, pick god over logic and your out before you start. If RFID can be brought into the classroom with out invading the privacy of students and without being used as a means to an end of targeted advertising then it's a good idea!
Face it, factory education, and treating children like cattle in school is cheaper. Those schools have to be paid for with taxes. Decent education can be much more expensive than public schools with large class sizes. People that drop out of high school find that out first hand.
How many of you folks that think this is a big deal have turned down a job because they had to wear a badge on company property?
Hallelujah!
(a) High school is already enough of a dehumanizing experience.
(b) I have two teenage kids. Their generation is growing up thinking that it's some kind of crime to walk home from school and kick pinecones instead of getting driven straight to soccer practice and then SAT prep.
(c) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slippery_slope
Find free books.
I think they're forgetting the first fact, which is this is so falsifiable, it's comical. One badge on your shirt, the other in your pocket. Tada, you and your friend attended class. It's idiotic and a complete joke of a system.
Okay, you can all go back to ethics and morals now, lol.
By the way, the political bill-namers could have a field day with this one! Anti-children as livestock bill. Anti-child tracking bill. Kid-tagging bill. Pretty much any title sounds bad, let alone if they try to do it on purpose.
RFID all guns and/or bullets and let people have guns in school. Voila I am a genius
Won't somebody PLEASE think of the children? Why, the RFID system will be able to detect when unauthorized people are on school grounds. All we have to do is get the unauthorized people to wear a badge that has been programmed to say that they are unauthorized.
If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
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Our Federal Government has determined that the greatest threat of terrorism and to itself comes from U.S.A. citizens.
Therefore, RFID MUST be mandated in all sectors of the society.
High Schools, for instance, will be able to identify and track their very own student terrorists. The School's Principal will be able to identify and track Teachers who are Terrorists.
Employers at Shopping Centers, Hospitals, Insurance Agencies, Bookstores, Apparel, Consumer Electronics, Automobile Dealerships, Banks, Police Departments, Establishments of Religion will have the necessary and needed tool to identify the Terrorists Among Them.
Lastly we disparately need RFID on ALL Local, State and Federal Employees too, as they are a hot bed of Terrorists.
This is the cottage industry that will set the United States of America apart and above all the world.
Slashdot has never been about personal freedom. It is a technophile news aggregator. RFID tags on children automate away the problem of attendance gathering. Technology applied to solve a problem, thus the support.
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are these school officials going to be allowed to go in trying to control every movement and thought that a student might possibly have or make? And how much money are the taxpayers going to have to provide in order to pay for this draconian, futuristic BS?
We didn't have this nonsense when I went to school and nobody died. Yeah, some guys got away with smoking in the boys room. BFD. This is spending money just to be spending money, I think. Its a "just say no" situation.
Actually it does.
If some asshole is going to hold me accountable for the location of their brat, then I've going to stick an RFID on the brat. And those assholes hold me accountable for their brat until that brat enters the front door of their house.
So fuck them and their brat, they brought this on themselves.
Slashdot has never been about personal freedom. It is a technophile news aggregator. RFID tags on children automate away the problem of attendance gathering. Technology applied to solve a problem, thus the support.
School should never be about attendance, but about learning. The pupils/students need to learn stuff and there needs to be some test or oral exam to certify their progress. It doesn't matter how they acquired such knowledge it just needs to belearned at the end of the term. I'd rather have the kids reading books at home than supervised sleeping in school. It is time to honor education.
I know the schools are paid for class hours * attending person, but you don't nail a fail onto another.
I can't believe anyone is talking about privacy, there isn't suppose to be privacy in school. You have attendance at every class and you have to sign out to even go to the bathroom. It's just a bad idea because it won't accomplish anything and the system will be gamed, more security theater to line the pockets of some company. Legislation is overkill but parents of school districts proposing this should definitely fight it, for sane reasons though.
When Saudi Arabia requires all women to wear RFID tags, it's called slavery.
When Texas requires all teenagers to wear RFID tags, it's not called slavery.
Please tell me the difference.
if being assigned a number used to track you in school is the mark of the beast, the first computerized attendance databases were the problem. your teacher calls your name, marks your attendance down. the school robo-call computer reads the attendance data (or someone enters it in), assigns it to your name in the database (which already has an ID number). the rfid just automagically does attendance. its no different. and i'm sure you could get a bag or box cover that would inhibit the rfid from being accessed outside of school.
You know, that second amendment thingy.
She and her parents were told they would ALSO have to stop saying they didn't like it and say they approved of it. Enforced endorsement.
And RFIDs aren't needed. Spend the money on EDUCATION.
Are RFIDs free? Are the readers free?
No.
And do they help educate kids?
No.
So why are they being mandated in school?
So that money can go from the public purse to private industry without having to work selling anything.
Put them in air vents etc and you'll never leave school!
RFIDs aren't needed.
A teacher can take roll call in 2 minutes with 20 pupils. If you can't afford teachers at that level, then don't buy RFIDs but pay for more teachers.
Does anyone know if prisons use RFID technology to track prisoners? I feel like that might be a better use than tracking students. How about parolees? High tech house arrest, could force checking in at home/PO office/rehab electronically... Of course, some kind of implanted or second layer of verification would be needed for this, but maybe its the way of the future.
Sauer
Tagging women is "oppressing the gender," which doesn't fit the liberal agenda.
Tagging children is "won't someone think of the chirren," or "enslavement for your own good," or "getting you used to state-as-parent," which does fit the liberal agenda.
Do you believe you have the right to tag your own child if you so desire?
Responding to a threat to track with a threat to dismember? That's either Libertarian nut or just Internet nut, but it sure is psycho violent wannabe blowhard nut.
The problem here is schools get paid money based on the number of asses in seats, and of course when money's involved people cheat, so they need an automated system to count the number of asses.
The solution is to implant a contact RFID (which has a range of about 6 inches and therefore is untrackable at range) chip into the buttocks of each student, and make each chair a RFID reader. Objectioners can choose to carry a RFID badge in their pocket rather than receive injections, so there should be no humanitarian or religious objections.
No RFID? Fine, the schools will install Palm readers or finger print readers at every door instead.
They want to track when students come and leave the grounds. That is their legal mandate. Rather than having teachers mark off students as they come and go, using technology seems cheaper.
School adminitrators also need to track when non-students come and go. This is also a legal mandate.
I think the best answer is to place a motion activated video camera on every door that sends the video stream off-site. 99.9999999% of the time, nobody needs to review the video, but if a crazy person causes any trouble, having it is a great idea.
The video footage should be deleted within 7 days too. Privacy does matter, even for non-adults.
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let's see how well you can track your own internal organs once I am done with you. You people are sick.
Title: What have we become...
Post: excerpt, see above
It seems like Slashdot has been overrun by violent libertarian nutjobs, like yourself.
" It is a technophile news aggregator. "
ROFLMAO...
School should never be about attendance, but about learning. The pupils/students need to learn stuff and there needs to be some test or oral exam to certify their progress.
Um. That's what happens now -- you can homeschool, which just has various curriculum and testing requirements. But those requirements have to be implemented in some way. If nobody is managing your homeschooling, you are required to at least *be* somewhere that will manage your schooling. You simply have this mistaken belief that testing for competency is "easy" and would work fine. We have trouble even doing this properly in schools.
And what's with this "schools are paid by the class hour" crap. That kind of metric is commonly used for discussing school budgets, but it is by no means uniform enough to be even a useful standard let alone some kind of implied universal requirement.
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When Slashdot, once a bastion of personal liberties, has about a 50/50 representation of people that are FOR this egregious erosion of freedom, and those that are not.
That's because the Libertarians matured to the point where they realize that "I'm gonna get a gun and kill you if you track my kid at school" is a completely retarded answer.
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Texas, where teaching lies to children is a matter of state school board policy, is worried about those same children being chipped, ok... badged. It's a step in the right direction, I guess, but I do wish that it was for the right reasons, instead of some ignorant, red-neck paranoia.
Quotes from the late, wonderful Molly Ivins:
"The Texas Lege is God's gift to columnists"
"The Lege is in session - our villages are missing their idiots"
Besides, doesn' t he know that the Mark of the Beast (tm) is the barcode that they laser tatoo on your forehead?
mark
The Northside ISD has already removed the RFID chip from her ID card. She is only being required to carry an ID card which she is refusing to do. They also offered to let her go to a different high school in the district that does not use RFID cards and she refused that.
Can't you see that that is just as extremist as the immediate desire to ban everything? Indeed worse when it comes to guns, as people are dying you crazy fuck.
Faraday Cage.
Seriously. You can get one in your wallet, you can get one for your passport. Block the RF signals when you don't want them going out. Not that big a deal.
My problem is all the school administrators talking about how this improves campus safety. Even though it can only track tagged kids. The guy with high powered rifle walking onto the campus cant be sensed or tracked by the system. The other thing is these are active battery powered tags, which are very expensive. Why cant they just have standard cards with passive rfid chips, like a lot of us use for mass transit. Then instead of a tracking system switch all the doors in the school to remain locked at all times and only unlock for an ID swipe. With the kids badges opening doors they need to get into (main doors, bathrooms, even classrooms for their specific classes) and Staff cards open most doors. Then the guy with a gun comes to the campus and can't get in the door to start with (unless they shoot out the lock but that starts police response) The campus is more safe because most doors are closed and locked by default making it harder to go from room to room. I think these things are a privacy night mare. Most kids will keep them in purses or wallets, if I worked in retail the first thing I do is place readers by the doors and checkout registers that ping the cards since I can read them in someones purse or pocket. I only get a number but I will know how often that number enters the store, when and what they spend money on. If they use a credit card at checkout I now know the name of the person and can attach it to the ID number. There are no laws preventing me from doing this. If the tags where passive this would be almost impossible.
I don't have any issue with non-rfid cards, fingerprint* scanners, or such. They are not 'long range' (comparatively), you have to have directly touch some device there there is no 'leakage' other then finger prints on what you touch. The RFID being used in these schools is battery powered and has a range big enough to be detected and used by people you wouldn't expect.
*fingerprint records should be deleted once student graduates or leaves district.