There is no big deal. The ID cards are ubiquitous and a good thing. The cards tell who entered what entry at what time and when they left.
Most important, a person without the card is denied entry.
I fail to see a problem other than Luddite disgust for change.
Remember those wonderful computers that were given to students in PA?
Let’s be clear on this, bert. This process doesn’t tell anything other than where the CARD is located, or what doors/locks it has activated at what time, etc. Unless it’s surgically attached to the person, it’s not assured that little Johnny used his card to get anywhere...
FTA
On October 1, the schools went live with a program to use the chips to track the exact locations of students using the badges. The badges would even be able to tell if a student in a classroom is in his seat or somewhere else in the room.
FTA
Unlike chips used by retailers to track inventory which activate when scanned by a reader, these chips contain batteries and actively broadcast a continuous signal.
Most important, a person without the card is denied entry.
True, so far as it goes...
Quoting the article: "During registration they were required to obtain new badges containing a radio frequency identification tracker chip."
If I'm reading this correctly, identification could be accomplished with a RFID chip programed with a student's number. However when you include a "tracker" function an ID chip will only tell you if student "A" is either in the building or not. Since the school has a monetary interest in eliminating truancy I would assume the new card includes GPS functionality to facilitate a roundup of stray students. They have bumped up quite a bit from a simple short range ID chip used to log in/out. That could easily become a major assault on an individual's right to privacy.
It doesn't take a lot of imagination to conjure up a nasty scenario wherein a pedophile hacks into the school network and uses the GPS data to select and track victims for instance.
If I'm wrong about the GPS and the only desire is to track students within the building it would be necessary to put RFID scanners on every door and window in the building and track each student as he/she entered and proceeded from hall to room and back to hall. The next question is what do you do if someone does not come back from lunch? Suppose someone log in through the front door, wraps his card in foil and then leaves through a side door. The fire code will never allow you to have locked exit doors or turnstiles so there is nothing to prevent a student leaving without using his/her card! Tons of money expended on a system that doesn't do much to solve the stated problem.
Regards,
GtG
PS Hint: If you want to get back in w/o using your card, an 1/8" allen wrench is all you need to disable a crash bar door lock on your way out.