Student Kicked Out Of School For Refusing To Wear RFID Tracking Badge Following Failed Appeal

cnsnews ^ | Friday, January 18, 2013 | Craig Bannister

[upchuck]

Having lost her appeal, 15 year-old student Andrea Hernandez is leaving John Jay High School after school officials denied her request to allow her to continue her "education uninterrupted" by permitting her to use her old (chipless) ID badge which "does not signify participation in a program which I believe conflicts with my religious beliefs."

In her handwritten letter, Hernandez writes: "I do not wish to wear the new badge, even without the RFID chip, because it signifies participation in the program."

Hernandez, who has been threatened with expulsion for refusing to wear a chipless RFID tracking badge, had her request for a preliminary injunction denied by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Western District of Texas. Rutherford Institute attorneys argue the school is violating her rights under Texas' Religious Freedom Act and the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

"The case will definitely move forward now, and hopefully, we will eventually find justice in the courts," John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute says.

Hernandez had been hoping the school would compromise. "If they dig in their heels, however, she will have to change schools," Rutherford told "The Right Views."

[upchuck]

From Revelations 13:

v16 The second strange animal also caused everyone to receive a mark. They put the mark on their right hands or on the front of their heads. They put the mark on the powerful, important people and on the people who were not powerful. They put it on people who were rich or poor, or slaves or free people.

v17 Nobody could buy anything unless they had the mark. Nobody without the mark could sell anything. This mark is the first strange animal’s name or its number, which means the same as its name.

v18 Here is a problem that you must think about carefully. Anyone who is clever should try to understand the strange animal’s number. It is a human number. The number is 666.

Hard to believe this is going on in Texas.

Background on this story from WND.

[ALPAPilot]

Now that she’s been kicked out of the taxpayer funded government run liberal indoctrination center she has a chance of receiving an education.

[RitaOK]

This story, as written, needed background, for sure. Like a bad connection, cutting in and out on any info. I hung up.
Better to go WND for actual content, I hope.

[sassy steel magnolia]

brave young woman. How many of us will be just as brave when we must choose between our pension, paycheck, access to bank account, medication, access to health care, etc. OR take the number of the beast? What if our families are threatened?

I pray I have similar strength of faith...

[kindred]

The Book of Revelation is of the prophecy of the Christ of God who will come after the 7 year ordained tribulation to bring in the His millennial rule as King of Kings and Lord of Lords in the nation of Israel.These two verses speak of the anti christ and the mark of worship all humankind must wear in order to buy or sell anything including food during this time of Gods 21 judgments on the earth. If one takes the mark, he is damned of God for worshiping the anti christ as God. You ought not to change the meaning of the Word of God lest your soul be endangered of hell fire as God does warn those who make a mock of His Holy Word.

Revelation 13:

13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and
poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

[upchuck]

This story, as written, needed background, for sure.

Agreed. When I first read the article on CNS I was left wondering about much of it. The WND article has a lot more info. The CNS article is mostly about the latest court shenanigans.

[knarf]

Those questions have begun to be asked and Americans have had to make decisions.

We live in another time that try men's souls.

[Sherman Logan]

Not very much info here, but as written her position is a little bit silly.

She could have worn a button right next to the badge stating that the badge did not contain a chip and she was not participating in the RFID program. In which case she would be neither participating in the RFID program nor leaving others with the impression she was.

Although we should recognize that the system does not track the location of the student, it tracks the location of the badge. The obvious way around this limitation is to implant the chip, possibly in the hand or forehead...

[haffast]

Lawsuit against Northside ISD tracking system rejected
By Francisco Vara-Orta
Updated 11:05 pm, Tuesday, January 8, 2013

"A federal judge Tuesday ruled that Northside Independent School District can transfer a student from her magnet school for refusing to wear her student ID badge to protest a new electronic tracking system."

snip

"The district is testing a “radio frequency identification,” or RFID, tracking system and picked Jones Middle School and Jay for the pilot program."

snip

"With a combined 4,200 students, both have struggled with attendance issues. State funding is partly based on attendance, and if the technology generates significant extra income in a budget-cutting era, the district might decide to install it at all 112 of its campuses."

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/education/article/Lawsuit-against-Northside-ISD-tracking-system-4176148.php#ixzz2IQd8HUXC

[Eye of Unk]

Go to pet store.

Buy a white rat.

Give the rat the chip on a collar.

Release rat at school.

[Sacajaweau]

What a joke. The bottom line is...This is all about money...

[pajama pundit]

The REALLY disappointing thing is that apparently only one family thinks that this is a bad idea and is willing to take a stand. Maybe those who would are all in private school, but if this girl is the ONLY one, then that is sad (and telling).

[wrench]

^^^ State funding is partly based on attendance ^^^

It is not about attendance, education, or student safety,.....It is all about THE MONEY

[left that other site]

The sad thing is that every iPhone, iPad, GPS device, and cell phone is actually a tracking device. And everyone has at least one of those. (Get yo obamaphone!!!!)

Not too many wear them on their forehead, but the right hand is another matter.

[Psycho_Bunny]

When Business behaves like Business, it works.

When Government behaves like Business, people lose rights.

[upchuck]

And everyone has at least one of those.

I can personally attest that not everyone does.

[Timber Rattler]

It’s always about the money.

[deport]

Several FR threads on this saga going back to Aug. 2012 when the RFID chips became mandatory

[left that other site]

OK....but they are a teeny weeny minority!

I only have one device...a cell phone, but I think i will get rid of it.

[Repulican Donkey]

This has nothing to do with Revelations. A Texas 4A or 5A has a greater population than 50% of the incorporated municipalities in the state. Those schools have a population density similar to, maybe even tighter than, a state prison. The students in those schools have the same degree of choice about being in school as the prisoners have about being in prison - none. In a 3000 student high school 90%(2700)kids are normal. They like school, they do well, they aren’t perfect but they are good citizens. Then there are the 300 who make up the other 10%. They are job security for assistant principals and school cops. In that 10% you’ll find rapists, drug dealers, gangbangers, theifs, hookers and the criminally insane. The school must accept them. So, how does a school keep the 90% safe from the 10% with a one cop and maybe five administrators? Good question.The GPS ID badge, if worn, is a valid and reasonable safety measure - just like metal detectors, drug detection dogs and all the other things schools do. So, lets do this in a “what if”. Your darling, beautiful, smart, and obviously gifted daughter is in a typical school. What would make you feel more at ease? Option 1: if she isn’t where she’s supposed to be an alarm alerts an adult who starts looking for her to make sure she’s safe; or option 2: she isn’t wearing the “sign of the beast” but she’s cornered in a stairwell by a 20 year old 12th grader who has to wear an ankle monitor after his parole fom prison for sexual assault?

[Suz in AZ]

Just stick it in the microwave. One spark should do it.

[A_perfect_lady]

The sad thing is that every iPhone, iPad, GPS device, and cell phone is actually a tracking device. And everyone has at least one of those.

Yes. But let's not interrupt this satisfying Two Minutes of Hatred with such prosaic facts. The Endtimes contingent is having so much fun just now.

[deport]

The points you make are valid even if not accepted by the student and her religious beliefs.

But another reason I read sometime back from the school administration included the monetary factor in that they could find the students if they were on site and missing from the attendance count, thus raising their revenue stream for the day.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

They should now increase the pressure. The crafty way to do this would be to make a discreet paid scholarship offer to other students to “Leave John Jay High School under protest, by refusing to wear the RFID badge or support the dehumanization of students.” With no mention of the scholarships, it would appear to be a mass protest.

Throw in the “dehumanization” bit as the reason instead of religion, because it broadens the case as well as attracting the support of the more secular.

Losing one student, no problem. Losing half a dozen or a dozen students adds up to real money, from the school’s point of view. It also tells the public that it is not just one “hothead”, but a bunch of students and parents that find this objectionable.

[Mr. Know It All]

This badge has nothing to do with buying or selling, so it doesn’t match the description in the Bible.

[MaxMax]

And all the kids should be told about this method of denial to the Gov.
They will not turn away the whole school. Someone needs to get this onto their facebook.

[left that other site]

I don’t think that FReepers who believe that we are in the End Times are “Hateful”. Please don’t attribute that to me.

I am sorry if my post caused you to draw that conclusion.

[Resettozero]

Just stick it in the microwave. One spark should do it.

Clever use of modern technology. Bet a parent would have to cough up the money to replace a non-functional unit.

The fact that circumvention of tagging is even being thought of as a way for religious conservatives to proceed in American life indicates to me that students (and future adults) are being herded into containment rather than our paid officials dealing with the real problems of violence in public school systems.

[pepperdog]

No kids school age, but noticed an advertisement on tv the other night, high school at home via computer, no charge. Of course one could always be tracked by the computer id. Love the idea of kids not being indoctrinated by liberal teachers or exposed to the bullying that sometimes happens at publik schools for trying to excel. I also like having the idea of curriculum available for the parents to read and debate or downright ridicule if necessary. Then there is the added benefit of no danger of a gun free zone school shooting!

[Repulican Donkey]

What they’re talking about is ADA (Average Daily Attendance). What appeared in the story has little to do with ADA. Every school day, at 10:00AM, schools take an official attendance record for that day. Over the year those numbers get tabulated and averaged to serve as the basis for state funding the NEXT school year. Yes, ADA plays a small role in this, but not much. All of the misinformation on education galls me since I spent years working in public ed. I’m not a big fan. After Columbine I led a district effort to make our schools as safe as reasonably possible. It is a full time task. About 15 years ago the legislature founded something called AEP - Alternative Education Program - in every district. The AEP law is a joke. The net effect is that criminals under age 18 got foisted off onto public school districts instead of the juvenile justice system. Every day I left work thanking God we didn’t have anybody killed or raped that day - student or staff. Things just got worse after 2005 when the criminal element from New Orleans hit Texas after Katrina.

[Repulican Donkey]

Guess you are OK with Option 2.

[Resettozero]

Things just got worse after 2005 when the criminal element from New Orleans hit Texas after Katrina.

I'm curious what happened to the political career of the Mayor of Houston who magnanimously invited those from NO to "come on over". Still in office?

[Repulican Donkey]

Ok, to you she’s a brave young woman. To me she is a whiner and a brat. First, she’s in a magnet school, not a regular school, so she is getting a superior and more costly education than the herd back in the regular school. Second, attendance at a magnet school is not part of the “free appropriate public education” required by the state constitution. It is “gravy”. Send her back to the regular school. If a high school football player, band member, cheerleader etc has to agree to mandatory random drug testing because their programs are not part of the standard curriculum, then Ms. Entitled can wear the damn badge at a school that isn’t part of the standard curriculum. No one is “implanting a chip”. This isn’t the “sign of the beast”. This is wearing a stinking badge while inside a building. Jeez, get a grip!

[yadent]

So are these chipped badges like little ‘I’ve fallen and can’t get up’ devices, self-activated when one is in ‘trouble’ or wearer activated when in a ‘bad’ situation? Or are they more akin to a plane ‘beacon’ that tells one where to find the bodies? A false sense of security if that is what it’s for as I have dealt with such systems within the CA correctional system.

[deport]

White was term limited on Jan 2, 2010. He ran as the democratic candidate against Gov. Perry in the fall of 2010 and lost.

[deport]

THREE GOALS

1. Increase student safety and security. Our students' parents expect that we always know where their children are in our schools.

2. Increase attendance. Through more efficient attendance management, schools can generate additional revenues by identifying students who are not in their seats during roll call but who are in the school and locate them. (Increased attendance = increased state revenues)

3. Provide multi-purpose "Smart" Student ID card. The Student ID will provide access to the library and cafeteria, serve as a photo ID, and allow for the purchase of tickets to schools' extracurricular activities. Other uses will be rolled out during the pilot program. http://www.nisd.net/studentlocator/

Note #2 above indicates locator type device.

[Repulican Donkey]

Term limited

[Repulican Donkey]

Sounds reasonable to me. Students who are “out of area” identified; cashless means reduced theft; electronic attendance eliminates human error (kid in restroom or office when teacher takes ADA).

[Repulican Donkey]

Apples vs Oranges. Every 50 - 60 minutes every high school student is supposed to be in a particular room. You can bet the school cop and the APs have a “hot list” of the thugs. If they are wandering they can be located, as well as any potential victims. For instance: Thuggo isn’t in class but in a stairwell along with three other kids. Instant alert to trouble. One AP heads to each exit from the stairs, grabs them as they come out and deals with it / all APs converge and intercept. As to the “false sense of security”: every system is flawed.

[RitaOK]

Thanks, upchuck.

Can’t imagine ACLU going along with this overreach.

[Datom]

Why does Pink Floyd come to mind. “Just another brick in the wall”

[sassy steel magnolia]

Regardless of whether it is a magnet school or regular public (or even private), if she wears the RFID badge then she is “tracked” and she feels her individual rights are infringed upon by the school. No, it’s not implanted, but getting closer to that requirement every day. When I was in the military I had to wear my badge; my spouse at work has to wear his badge, other folks wear badges where they work. But that is NOT school, and she is not a prisoner. Yes, students do have IDs, and they are for a variety of purposes, but to physically track each student is definitely on the road to Big Brother. More and more electronic data is captured every day on each citizen, whether overtly or covertly. What is the government doing with all this data? For what purpose? It should make every one of us stop and think.

To your point about “golden flow” tests: that is NOT the same, and I do agree that random urinalysis tests are appropriate at school and work and on competitive teams/events. That’s a different subject altogether.

Thank you for your earlier comments—it is fortunate for us that we can put forth our opinions in an adult manner.

Have a nice day!

[Wonder Warthog]

"Sounds reasonable to me. Students who are “out of area” identified; cashless means reduced theft; electronic attendance eliminates human error (kid in restroom or office when teacher takes ADA).

What you fail to understand is that this is just a step on the way to total real-time monitoring of very human, every animal, and pretty much anything that moves.

The techie community is putting together a set of monitoring and surveillance tools that Hitler, Stalin and Mao would have drooled to get.

RFID, mm wave radar, IR imaging and drone technology will very soon have the capability to check where you are, what you are doing, whether you are carrying a weapon, and much else, at any time and anywhere.

It scares the hell out of me, and not for biblical reasons.

[ThomasThomas]

What would John Jay do?

Jay believed that both at home and abroad Americans must adhere to moral principles, among them honesty, patriotism, duty, and hard work along with obedience to God’s will.

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/John_Jay

[fattigermaster]

The GPS in my cellphone permanently shows it to be in the Atlantic Ocean...whatever giggles that info gives gov operatives.

I live on a boat and that’s where it stays.

[A_perfect_lady]

Yours didn’t. All the ones manifesting such mindless hostility and paranoia did.

[deport]

if she wears the RFID badge then she is “tracked” and she feels her individual rights are infringed upon by the school.

**************

I guess that is part of the problem. She was offered the opportunity to wear a badge on school property that was RFID free. She refused as was her choice.

[left that other site]

LOL!

[Repulican Donkey]

Thanks for the nice comments. No school can formulate policy based on how a 15 year old feels. I searched many a locker to the tune of “you can’t do that, it’s MY locker”. I would just hand them the Supreme Court ruling. As to BB: we’ve been there for ages. They can download your cell phone dump; monitor your Facebook page; even read your posts on FR. Back to the safety point: Texas law makes schools, teachers and administrators immune from civil law suits except for negligence. So, if a school board is aware that chipped ID badges allow for the pro-active tracking of students on school grounds during the school day - when the school has the loco parentis obligation - the board has to adopt the badges. Imagine the deer in the headlights look to this question while under oath: “Were you aware of any available and reasonable means to more closely monitor your students’ movements and locations?”

[Repulican Donkey]

1. She refused to wear the chipped badge. 2. She had the option of an unchipped badge but refused. So, she’s out. End of story. Schools have been requiring visible IDs for years.