Originally published August 15 2005
School buses go high-tech with GPS monitoring
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
A school bus in Indianapolis has been equipped with GPS monitoring so that school staff can follow its every move.
The system is one of several new monitoring technologies that are being installed in school districts nationwide for student safety.
Schools are upgrading video cameras in and around school buildings (and sometimes in buses) to enable real-time monitoring in remote offices.
Some preschools and day care centers are allowing parents to watch video streaming from Webcams.
A few schools are considering using radio-frequency identification tags to be built into bracelets, badges or smart cards that could record when students go through doorways or get off buses.
Many middle schools and high schools are requiring students to carry smart cards that store discipline records, immunization reports and eligibility for lunch discounts.
At the School of the Future, a new high school in Philadelphia being constructed in collaboration with Microsoft and scheduled to open in 2006, students will be required to swipe smart cards at every classroom entrance.
"That will really be able to track comings and goings," said Bob Westall, executive director of information technology for the School District of Philadelphia.
Schools administrators say they are also preparing for potential terrorist acts.
Joseph A. Monie Sr., a school-bus driver in Washington Township in Indianapolis, said he liked the feeling of security that came with a global positioning system, though he added that he was always conscious of being tracked.
"When you think you're in a rush and you're not really, it makes you think twice about the speed limit."
Monie's bus also has a video camera, which he raves about.
"If you are paying attention to your traffic," he said, "you can't keep looking up in that mirror."
The camera keeps an eye on the children for him.
Last year, he said, a first grader complained that a third grader "was beating on him.
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