Campus Cards, College and University Identification and Security

School fingerprint program expanding

Monday, May 4, 2009

Following the success of a fingerprint scan program that replaced the previous system for purchasing lunches at an Ohio middle school and high school, the local board of education is looking to expand the program to be broadened at the high school and be implemented at three new schools in the district, according to a Hudson Hub Times article.

With the program in its infancy in the district, majority of feedback both from students and parents has been very positive.


According to the District Food Service Supervisor, Maureen Faron, the systems used are layered with security and the systems do not hold prints, but rather an algorithm of the fingerprint. Additional positive aspects that Faron points to are the money saving aspect as the $25,500 cost of the expansion would come out of her budget, but has already been saving the district money by relieving the costs associated with reissuance of lost or stolen ID cards for the lunch programs.

Read the full story here [end] 

SmartMetric, a developer of portable biometric solutions, has announced that its biometric activated data card can now be used to contain full medical history and health records on the individual. The card, called the SmartMetric Data Card, is a standard sized card that has the capability of holding multiple pages of data as well as being inaccessible without the holder first scanning his fingerprint on the card itself.

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Bright Way College in Jankipuram in India has implemented a system developed by biometrics developer GI Biometric Solutions in hopes of better protecting its students from being sent home with people that are not supposed to be picking up the children, such as kidnappers, according to a Times of India article.

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The New Canaan Public School District in Connecticut is in planning to participate in a “technology experiment,” which would utilize RFID technology to track students, staff and school property, according to local news report.

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Scalby School officials are receiving a lot of heat from their decision to implement biometric equipment, according to a local news report.

The school, located in Scarborough, UK, recently introduced a cashless payment system and library checkout program that functions by reading students’ fingerprints.

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A primary school in Manchester, UK is piloting a program in which students as young as four years old use fingerprints rather than library cards to check out books from the school library. The new program is meeting some opposition, according to a Popular Science article, in the form of concerned parents and privacy advocating groups.

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The Palos Heights School District 128 in Chicago is using GPS technology to track its students allowing the district to keep up with the student–when he or she first entered the school bus and when the student exited the district’s care.

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Cardsmith