Technology can be good, it can be bad, and, in its extreme versions, it can even take away some civil liberties. One new controversial technology that has made its début into some American schools is the Radio Frequency Identification Chips, or RFID chips. These chips are used for tracking and have, for years, been used with pets to help prevent them from being lost. However, now some school systems in San Antonio, Texas, are trying to implement the trackers into students’ every day lives.

RFID chips are now being imbedded into the student ID’s in San Antonio, Texas. The Administration there believes these chips are safe for students and says they will only be used to track students in school to help put an end to truancy. The Administration also claims students can only be tracked in the school, but the trackers themselves never turn off. The schools are also planning to require students to use their students IDs to pay for their lunches and even to check out library books.

The chips are causing an uproar of upset parents claiming that these chips are going against the personal freedom rights promised to them and their children by the United States Constitution. They claim that these tracking devices are also dangerous to the students because of the students’ social security numbers, addresses and photos are all embedded in the chips.

One of the Texas students against the RFID tracking chips, Andrea Hernandez, says that she actually feels less safe with the chips then without them. She says there are pedophiles in the area that are able to pick up on the frequencies emitted from the chips and are able to access students’ personal information and photos thereby “shop” for victims.

There are also consequences for students who do not wear the right student IDs. For instance, because she refused to carry the ID with the embedded tracking chip, Andrea wasn’t able to vote for her Homecoming king and queen and the school is also looking to take away her opportunities to participate in extra curricular activities. The school has explained to Andrea that she could lose her place in the school activities she enjoys just because she refuses to wear the IDs with the chips in them.

The parents of students, such as Andrea, tried to reason with the School Board with little success. At the meeting to discuss the issue, the School Board allowed only five people to speak out, Andrea’s father being one. He said that the School Board is tagging the students “like cattle.”

On the other hand, some parents are actually all for the new tracking system. They claim that the School Board is doing something good for the students. Some even say that they like knowing exactly where their student is, if and when they call the school. One school administrator is even claiming that the chips can help in an emergency. For instance, if there were to be a fire in the schools and a teacher were missing a student all the principal would have to do it look to see where the radio frequency is coming from in the school.

Andrea Hernandez claims she knows some students will just come to school, put the new IDs in their locker, and not carry them around with them. Some parents even stress the concern that some practical jokesters might try to put their IDs in the bathrooms during an emergency drill in order to cause confusion.

It is not just the schools in Texas that are starting to implement the use of tracking devices on students. Schools in St. Louis, Missouri, are also starting to place RFID trackers in student IDs.

It looks as if technology might be taking over more than just the regular day to day life of students outside of school, it might be coming into schools to affect their lives as well.

Alliance High is even starting to use more technology to start tracking its students. Down in the office, instead of the regular pencil-paper way of checking out, the students are now going to start checking out using computers. After checking out, the students get a receipt that states the date, when the student checked out, the student’s name, and the reason for the student to check out. The student must keep the paper until he or she checks back in as proof of having properly checked out.

Alliance might not be to the point of chipping their students, but it might happen sooner than most think.