WASHINGTON Does your school know where you are? In class? On the bus? Paying for lunch in the cafeteria?

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1 (870 Lexile) Instructions: COMPLETE ALL QUESTIONS AND MARGIN NOTES using the CLOSE reading strategies practiced in class. This requires reading of the article three times. Step 1: Skim the article using these symbols as you read: (+) agree, (-) disagree, (*) important, (!) surprising, (?) wondering Step 2: Number the paragraphs. Read the article carefully and make notes in the margin. Notes should include: o Comments that show that you understand the article. (A summary or statement of the main idea of important sections may serve this purpose.) o Questions you have that show what you are wondering about as you read. o Notes that identify facts and opinions. o Observations about how the writer s techniques (organization, word choice, perspective, support) and choices affect the article. o Text structure (is it compare/contrast, main ideas and details, chronological order, cause/effect, or problem solution) PICK FROM THESE CHOICES Step 3: A final quick read noting anything you may have missed during the first two reads. Your margin notes are part of your score for this assessment. Answer the questions carefully in complete sentences unless otherwise instructed. Student Class Period Notes on my thoughts, reactions and questions as I read: The structure of this text is: (pick from the choices listed) Dawn and Mike Cantrall's daughter, a seventh-grader at Brittan Elementary School, at her Sutter, California, home, wearing the radio frequency identification tag that the school asked her to wear, Feb. 8, The Cantralls filed a formal complaint against the school board, protesting the tag. Photo: AP Photo/Max Whittaker WASHINGTON Does your school know where you are? In class? On the bus? Paying for lunch in the cafeteria?

2 Principals in thousands of schools know the answers. The information comes from computer technology that can track students throughout the school day. Schools use the devices to take attendance. They let parents know where their children get off the school bus. They can even speed up lunch lines. Student tracking technology is supposed to make schools safer and run better. However, the devices have come under attack. Several states are now outlawing or limiting their use in schools. Some Schools Are Saying No This year, Florida became the first state to stop biometric technology in schools. Biometrics recognizes a person by scanning a fingerprint, eye or palm. Other states have passed similar laws. Kansas said that a student or parent must give permission for that information to be collected. New Hampshire, Colorado and North Carolina said schools cannot store the information in student records. New Hampshire and Missouri lawmakers said schools cannot force students to use ID cards with radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. RFID technology tracks students through badges or tags with radio chips in them. The chips are either read by a scanner or send out a radio signal. The U.S. Postal Service uses RFID for tracking packages. The laws reflect a growing worry among parents and lawmakers. They are questioning what information is collected about students and how that information is protected. Notes on my thoughts, reactions and questions as I read: Some facts and opinions from this story are (label facts with F and opinions with an O ): "People Are Nervous About It" This year, 36 states talked about passing laws about the devices, said the Data Quality Campaign. It is a group that supports the new devices. The possible laws would stop or limit the technology. Fourteen laws were passed that involved biometric information. Technology is moving so fast, said Paige Kowalski, who works for Data Quality Campaign. I think that s why you re seeing these new laws. I think people are nervous about it. It s new. It s different from when we were kids. Kowalski said there is a desire to use technology, but some people want to take it slow. We want to know exactly how it s being used so we don t sacrifice too much privacy. Jay Fry is the head of identimetrics, a biometric technology company. He said biometric technology is used in more than 1,000 school districts in 40 states. He said the technology is safer than a student ID, which includes the student's name, picture and school. Fry came up with the idea in 2002 when he was a middle school principal in Illinois. Students often lost their lunch money or their IDs, which could be picked up by other people. You can t lose your finger, he said. School Safety Versus Privacy But some lawmakers question whether schools really need to keep such close track of students.

3 This is a technology that is very difficult to limit and to secure, said State Senator Ed Emery of Missouri. Emery helped pass a law that limits how school districts can use RFID. Parents in Missouri can now choose to keep their children from using RFID. He said RFID technology is not something you should force on children. Notes on my thoughts, reactions and questions as I read: Florida State Senator Dorothy Hukill proposed the law that prevented the use of biometric technology in Florida schools. She said students should not need it to buy a hot dog or check out a library book. Hukill said she is not opposed to technology, but she is concerned about keeping information about students safe. Rather than outlawing the technology, Kowalski of Data Quality Campaign said that lawmakers should make sure that parents know how it is being used. They should know what information is collected about their children and how that information is protected. If lawmakers were to stop the tracking technology, "you may be taking something useful away, she said. A summary of this article is: This article relates to me, someone I know, or the world I live in BECAUSE:

4 Comprehension questions answers may be in phrases. 1. What is biometrics? 2. What do schools use biometric tracking technology for? 3. Which state was the first one to ban biometric identification? 4. How many school districts currently use biometric technology? 5. What is RFID technology? 2. Answer each question in one or more complete sentences. Citing word for word from the text, what is one of the concerns that parents and lawyers have concerning biometric technology? According to the Data Quality campaign, how many states considered laws concerning biometric information? Citing from the text, how many laws involving biometric information were passed?

5 3. Imagine that you are against biometric tracking technology. Write the introductory paragraph of your argument and include a THESIS STATEMENT/CLAIM supporting the fight AGAINST biometric technology in schools. ONE PARAGRAPH MINIMUM. 4. Imagine that you support biometric tracking technology. Write the introductory paragraph of your argument and include a THESIS STATEMENT/CLAIM supporting the fight FOR biometric technology in schools. ONE PARAGRAPH MINIMUM.

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