Ever since the beginning of this century, thousands of schools have begun to use biometric devices. Students at these schools use biometric thumbprint devices to check into class and to buy lunch. School administrators will try to back up this policy by stating how it helps fight truancy by keeping better attendance. They also mention the need to track subsidized lunches, speed up lunch, and to replace library cards.
The problem is many schools fail to address the overwhelming number of concerns of these devices in a reasonable manner. Many parents are rightfully concerned of identity theft of their children. Federal Privacy laws protect student information from simply being given away, but many parents and privacy experts are worried companies managing school computer networks using this information to create marketing databases to track consumers. Other concerns include the cleanliness of using these devices.
Suppose a child is last to eat lunch in a school using biometric thumbprint scanners. He places his thumb where hundreds of other students who could be sick did. Next he places the same thumb on the food he eats. Who is going to regulate if all of the hundreds of students before washed their hands after using the restroom. The use of biometric devices in schools is the worst place for it, and simply gross.
It is obvious that the benefits justified by school administrators are outweighed by the risks. Even if the schools offer the option of ID cards instead, the risks of some students using the system is too high. This use of biometric devices has many parents and experts concerned that policies like these are brainwashing students to expect no privacy in the future. This and other infringements (The Patriot Act) on our disappearing American freedoms look like the beginning of future such as the one in George Orwell's 1984 novel. Whether policies could be the start of a future with no privacy or not, it is important to stop schools and universities from using biometric devices.
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1665119,00.html
