http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_1...nclick_check=1
RICHMOND, Calif.—California officials are outfitting preschoolers in Contra Costa County with tracking devices they say will save staff time and money.

The system was introduced Tuesday. When at the school, students will wear a jersey that has a small radio frequency tag. The tag will send signals to sensors that help track children’s whereabouts, attendance and even whether they’ve eaten or not.

School officials say it will free up teachers and administrators who previously had to note on paper files when a child was absent or had eaten.

Sung Kim of the county’s employment and human services department said the system could save thousands of hours of staff time and pay for itself within a year.

It cost $50,000 and was paid by a federal grant.


Tracking device could monitor Cupertino students walking habits
http://www.mercurynews.com/san-jose-...ds/ci_15527951
Cupertino students could add electronic “tracking devices” to the list of items they carry in their backpacks this fall. The Cupertino Public Safety Commission wants to test a new program that uses a tracking device to count how many students walk and bike to school in the notoriously congested tri-school area near Bubb and McClellan roads.

The commission is working on the logistics of bringing the Boltage program to Lincoln Elementary and Kennedy Middle schools this fall. The goal is to get more cars off the road.

The Boltage system uses a machine called the Zap, a solar-powered radio frequency identification reader. Students who walk and bike in the program get an RFID tag that attaches to their backpack, and the Zap reads their unique number when they go past it at the school.

The Zap beeps and flashes a light and uploads its daily counts.

Student tags can be read just once a day, and the Zap is programmed only for school days.

Each student has an account on the Boltage website where they can see all their trips. Boltage also provides reports and data that can be used to measure the number of children walking to school and to help create an incentive program for students and classrooms. Boltage suggests that schools and parent volunteers can work out a system to distribute prizes to students when they achieve bicycling and walking milestones throughout the school year.

[Note: What will Big Brother think of next?...maybe implantation in the skin and they can track our every move...they do this to animals and Alzheimer's patients anyways.]

http://www.waccobb.net/forums/showthread.php?71169-CA.-Kids-get-tracking-devices-now-they-re-RFID-ing-our-children