Protestors rally around student who refuses to wear tracking microchip

[HiPointDem]

Andrea Hernandez found an outpouring of support when she and her father Steve showed up for the Northside Independent School District (NISD) Board meeting August 28th. The San Antonio area High School honor student has refused to wear a school mandated RFID tracking beacon around her neck because doing so conflicts with her religious beliefs.

Her father and mother support her decision, but have been on edge ever since Andrea took her stand, worrying the school will try to expel her or punish her.

Members of CASPIAN, We Are Change San Antonio, We Are Change Texas Hill Country, and other concerned citizens rallied around Andrea in a pre-meeting protest outside the NISD school administration building in San Antonio, Texas. After the protest over two dozen supporters packed the board meeting room, and several addressed the school board.

ACLU of Texas has stepped in to help them assert their rights.

Northside ISD's Jay High School and Jones Middle School began requiring students to wear Student ID badges equipped with RFID tracking chips when school started August 27. The district said it decided to trial the technology to boost revenues lost due to absences.

Reaction to the school mandate was swift and drew protesters from as far away as Austin and Dallas on the first day of school.

The Hernandez family is standing firm, and so are we. Many thanks to everyone who has worked both near and far to decry RFID tracking schemes that threaten the privacy and civil liberties of all of us, including our nation's kids.

http://www.spychips.com/school/NorthsideBoardMeetingReport.html


I don't see how making kids wear chipped badges would decrease truancy. Truants wouldn't wear them & even if they did, unless the school is going to send cops to arrest the kids, what good would it do?

[LWolf]

1. It shouldn't have to conflict with her religious beliefs.

It should be illegal to mandate tracking devices, period.

I'm surprised that more families aren't refusing.

[RKP5637]

4. They don't protest because many are bred to be serfs and lemmings, many don't look outside of

their rut in life ... 'till they go over the cliff, and then it's too late. And then they wonder WTF, how did this happen?

[dixiegrrrrl]

36. I swear you and I are related in some way...

We keep thinking the same thing so often.

[RKP5637]

37. Yep, I think so too!

[progressoid]

39. Or they actually support it.

I can imagine quite a few parents that would be happy knowing that their child is tracked 24/7.

I'm not defending this, just sayin'.

[RKP5637]

40. Yes, that is probably quite true. n/t

[HiPointDem]

8. agreed. yet i have read a lot of folks (fools? shills?) making comments like this:

Not sympathetic: for nearly 20 years I have worn a badge either on my hip, or attached to my shirt with a clip, or most recently on a lanyard.

Said badge controls my access into my building and my work area.

What's the big deal?

(I have a separate badge that controls access into my rented garage space downtown)

http://sharperiron.org/filings/12-9-12/25449


yeah, those are really similar situations, buddy...

[LWolf]

46. Apples and oranges.

But that's par for the course in modern American discourse.

[HiPointDem]

47. yes.

[RKP5637]

2. One step more and they will be doing surgical implants, you know, do it for the children. We

live in a bullshit society! ... problem is, many don't get it 'till they smell the bullshit and then they find they're covered with it too. And WTF, how did this happen, it ain't right.

[former-republican]

3. with her religious beliefs

What religious belief is that?

[FSogol]

6. The Bible makes a mention of the anti-Christ having a mark so everyone will know.

A few holy rollers think ids are a sign of the devil.

On edit, when the government introduced social security numbers, they really freaked out.

[former-republican]

9. I remember the thing of social security numbers

"You're right" some religious people do freak out over that still.

sign of the beast

[FSogol]

5. Couldn't you just conceivably take a pair of needle nose pliers and

crush the chip? When the give you a new card, crush the chip. Repeat often.

[JackRiddler]

13. Sure, but absolutely not the point.

This has to be stopped right now.

Not by a few breaking the chips. All this means is that in a few years, the chips will be accepted and there will be a crackdown on chip-breaking as though it's a horrific vandalism.

This is outrageous - even if a majority want to assent like fools.

[justabob]

26. schools in other districts are also going to try this

IIRC Dallas ISD is going to try it out in schools with high truancy rates.

[JackRiddler]

28. That's why it has to be fought everywhere it starts.

This is setting up a total surveillance state with a more efficient schools-to-prison pipeline. It is not an acceptable solution for truancy.

[justabob]

29. agreed!

I was just pointing out that it is already spreading. It won't take long. I agree it has to be stamped out now. Sorry for not being clearer.

[rhett o rick]

41. The chip will have poison that would be released upon tampering and a gps which would

indicate when the chip was neutralized. People today allow chips to be installed for nightclubing. They can charge their drinks by having their chip scanned.

[FSogol]

44. and only the school nurse has the antidote?

I like it!

[rhett o rick]

45. I was in love with the school nurse. But that's another story. nm

[newfie11]

7. What the hell

This is nuts. I am speechless.

[WilliamPitt]

10. WTF??

Ugh.

[sadbear]

11. I don't understand how the tracking device is supposed to work.

If they wear the badges at school, so what? They're at school.

If they want to leave campus, they put the badge in their locker, and then leave campus.

If they don't go to school, they leave their badge at home.

Either I'm totally missing something or they must think the kids are really dumb.

[ellenfl]

12. if they don't go to school, they give the badge to one of their bffs to take for them.

that said, 'NO' to big brother.

[RC]

31. You are not missing anything.

These badges only work at the school. Go off campus and they no longer work. To read some of the posts here, you'd think they implanted chips in the kids.
This same technology has been used in hospitals, banks, any business that needs internal security, for many years.
It is, or should be, no big deal. But it is something "new" so people see "666" and tattoos on forearms coming in the near future.
While it is good to be skeptical and to question, thanks to dumbed down public education and fox style news in this country, the ignorance is embarrassing.

[Quantess]

14. "...boost revenues lost due to absences."

They care most about lost REVENUES due to absences? What kind of a school is that?

[Matariki]

17. Posted the same question at the same time. What does that even mean???

[sadbear]

18. It's a public school in Texas.

That should tell you all you need to know about them caring about lost revenues.

[hack89]

34. Most states including attendance in their school funding formula

here is an example from California:

Calculating Average Daily Attendance

The state of California funds school districts based on student attendance, also known as Average Daily Attendance (ADA), at school. ADA is calculated by dividing the total number of days of student attendance by the number of days of school taught during the same period.

Example:

Michael has perfect attendance, calculated this way:
142 days attended ÷ by 142 days of school taught = 1.0 ADA

Hannah attended 136 of the 142 days taught, calculated this way:
136 days attended ÷ by 142 days of school taught = .96 ADA

How Does ADA Generate Revenue for the District?

A student like Michael, with perfect attendance, generates $5,786* in revenue for the district. It is calculated this way: 1.0 ADA x $5,786 revenue limit per ADA = $5,786.

A student like Hannah, who may miss several days, generates less revenue. In this case, ADA is calculated this way: .96 ADA x $5,786 revenue limit per ADA = $5,554
In this case, there was a loss of $232 in possible revenue.

Irregular attendance also affects the revenue the district receives from the lottery, and for Special Education.

http://www.sandi.net/page/111

[Matariki]

15. WHAT does this mean - "to boost revenues lost due to absences" ???

Are they making money by fining parents? Is that what this is about?

[justabob]

24. no

Schools lose funding if too many kids are absent too often. Attendance is part of the funding equation.

[FSogol]

33. My take on that statement: They are selling the data on where the kids go

to marketers.

[hack89]

35. Most states including attendance in their school funding formula

here is an example from California:

Calculating Average Daily Attendance

The state of California funds school districts based on student attendance, also known as Average Daily Attendance (ADA), at school. ADA is calculated by dividing the total number of days of student attendance by the number of days of school taught during the same period.

Example:

Michael has perfect attendance, calculated this way:
142 days attended ÷ by 142 days of school taught = 1.0 ADA

Hannah attended 136 of the 142 days taught, calculated this way:
136 days attended ÷ by 142 days of school taught = .96 ADA

How Does ADA Generate Revenue for the District?

A student like Michael, with perfect attendance, generates $5,786* in revenue for the district. It is calculated this way: 1.0 ADA x $5,786 revenue limit per ADA = $5,786.

A student like Hannah, who may miss several days, generates less revenue. In this case, ADA is calculated this way: .96 ADA x $5,786 revenue limit per ADA = $5,554
In this case, there was a loss of $232 in possible revenue.

Irregular attendance also affects the revenue the district receives from the lottery, and for Special Education.

http://www.sandi.net/page/111

[sarcasmo]

16. When do taxpayers get a chip?

[Panasonic]

20. If your passport is new, you already have one.

It's RFID embedded.

[Quantess]

23. Now that, I don't mind so much.

Because you can usually leave it at home, and, if it gets stolen, then it can be tracked.
That is not at all as invasive as tracking a person's whereabouts.

[TeeYiYi]

25. I didn't know that, though I should have guessed...

My passport has been missing for a year and a half. I think it's here in my house somewhere but I'm not sure. I've searched.

I wonder if the passport office can track it for me... ...or give me a gps code and I'll use my smart phone to find it.

TYY

[Oilwellian]

38. Hmmm

When you buy a cell phone or have GPS in your car? Most of us are already "chipped."

[Panasonic]

19. RFID chips can be destroyed by rare earth magnets

Easily available on eBay for as little as $3

[quinnox]

21. like A DOG COLLAR

Will the next step be to lock the student ID badge to the student, unable to be removed? Or better yet, why not just fit all the students with ankle bracelets like they do criminals?? "It's for their own safety"

[sarcasmo]

22. Student ankle monitors.

[TeeYiYi]

27. That this is happening in a for-profit prison state, doesn't surprise me.

It sounds like it came from the same playbook, with an eye on lost revenue and the bottom line.

They're prepping the kids for a fast track to prison life.

TYY

[Rex]

30. ARghhh....I was really hoping beyond hope it was some other cities

NISD...but NO, it is SA...FUCKING SIGH. Sometimes I think SA is the worst city in Texas and sometimes the best.

Yeah tracking kids is NOT Big Brotherish so quit saying that!!!!!

[Egalitarian Thug]

32. "The district said it decided to trial the technology to boost revenues lost due to absences."

Says it all right there.

[Mariana]

42. They aren't even pretending to care about the students.

That's what gets me. Even if the money is most important thing to them, I don't understand why they didn't lie and tell the public that they want to improve attendance because it benefits the students. They don't even feel the need to fake it.

[Ya Basta]

43. RFID tracking of the past

First thing to come to my mind is. So they think of us the same way as we do cattle where they find it necessary to hang a modern day cow bell around our neck?