Biometrics in schools
Encyclopedia
Biometrics in schools have been used worldwide since the early first decade of the 21st century to address truancy
, to replace library cards, or to charge for meals. School biometrics, typically electronic fingerprint
ing systems, have raised privacy
concerns because of the creation of database
s that would progressively include the entire population.
locks or registered children's fingerprints. In the UK biometrics
in schools have been largely used for library book issue, but are increasingly being used for cashless catering systems, enabling parents to deposit money into students catering accounts, to be debited by a child's biometric fingerscan at the point of sale. Biometric technology for registration is also used in the UK. In the USA biometrics systems are used primarily for catering, as mentioned above, with library and registration biometrics in use also. Fingerprint
locking systems happened in the United Kingdom (fingerprint lock in the Holland Park School
in London,) databases, etc., in Belgium (école Marie-José in Liège ), in France, in Italy, etc. There has been recent discussion surrounding the biometrics in the uk and the general public have been misinformed about what is actually stored after a print is registered. There is no print stored, merely a series of digits ( some 30 ) that the computer is able to store to a pupil/person. It is impossible to reconstruct a finger print from this useless series of numbers.
has alerted that tens of thousands of UK school children were being fingerprinted by schools, often without the knowledge or consent of their parents . In 2002, the supplier Micro Librarian Systems, which use a technology similar to US prisons and German military, estimated that 350 schools through-out Britain were using such systems, to replace library cards . In 2007, it was estimated that 3,500 schools (ten times more) are using such systems . By 2009 the number of children fingerprinted was estimated to be two million .
Under the Data Protection Act (DPA), schools in the UK do not have to ask parental consent for such practices. Parents opposed to such practices may only bring individual complaints against schools . Concerns have been raised about the civil liberties implications of fingerprinting children in schools . In 2007 Early Day Motion
686, which called on the UK Government to conduct a full and open consultation with stakeholders about the use of biometrics in schools, secured the support of 85 Members of Parliament .
In response to a complaint which they are continuing to pursue, in 2010 the European Commission
expressed 'significant concerns' over the proportionality and necessity of the practice and the lack of judicial redress, indicating that the practice may break the European Union
data protection directive.
) to the Education Minister Marie Arena
, who replied that they were legal insofar as the school did not use them for external purposes nor to survey the private life of children . Such practices have also been used in France (Angers
, Carqueiranne college in the Var — the latter won the Big Brother Award
of 2005 for its hand geometry
system, etc.) although the CNIL
, official organism in charge of protection of privacy, has declared them "disproportionate." . The CNIL, however, declared in 2002 hand geometry systems to be acceptable.
in September 1999. Eagan High School, a testing ground for education technology since it opened, allowed willing students to use fingerprint readers to speed up the borrowing of library books.
Penn Cambria School District in Cresson, PA was another earlier user of biometric technology. In 2000, Food Service Solutions
, a local software development company, designed and implemented a system where students bought lunch with just a fingerprint. The American Civil Liberties Union
stated that this"could hasten the end of privacy rights"
Biometric systems were first used in schools in the UK in 2001. Use of this technology in schools is now widespread, though there are currently no official figures for how many schools employ the technology.
This means the data kept on file can only be used to verify an identity against another scan through the same system, the information would be effectively useless to police and 3rd parties.
scan or thumbprint scan but vein and iris scanning systems are also in use.
and Sweden
but were withdrawn from China
and Hong Kong
schools due to privacy concerns. It was reported in August 2007 that Dubai
are soon due to issue guidance to schools.
Ireland
UK
Truancy
Truancy is any intentional unauthorized absence from compulsory schooling. The term typically describes absences caused by students of their own free will, and usually does not refer to legitimate "excused" absences, such as ones related to medical conditions...
, to replace library cards, or to charge for meals. School biometrics, typically electronic fingerprint
Fingerprint
A fingerprint in its narrow sense is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. In a wider use of the term, fingerprints are the traces of an impression from the friction ridges of any part of a human hand. A print from the foot can also leave an impression of friction ridges...
ing systems, have raised privacy
Privacy
Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively...
concerns because of the creation of database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
s that would progressively include the entire population.
Fingerprinting
Many schools have implemented fingerprintFingerprint
A fingerprint in its narrow sense is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. In a wider use of the term, fingerprints are the traces of an impression from the friction ridges of any part of a human hand. A print from the foot can also leave an impression of friction ridges...
locks or registered children's fingerprints. In the UK biometrics
Biometrics
Biometrics As Jain & Ross point out, "the term biometric authentication is perhaps more appropriate than biometrics since the latter has been historically used in the field of statistics to refer to the analysis of biological data [36]" . consists of methods...
in schools have been largely used for library book issue, but are increasingly being used for cashless catering systems, enabling parents to deposit money into students catering accounts, to be debited by a child's biometric fingerscan at the point of sale. Biometric technology for registration is also used in the UK. In the USA biometrics systems are used primarily for catering, as mentioned above, with library and registration biometrics in use also. Fingerprint
Fingerprint
A fingerprint in its narrow sense is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. In a wider use of the term, fingerprints are the traces of an impression from the friction ridges of any part of a human hand. A print from the foot can also leave an impression of friction ridges...
locking systems happened in the United Kingdom (fingerprint lock in the Holland Park School
Holland Park School
Holland Park School was opened in London, UK, in 1958. It became the flagship for comprehensive education, and in its heyday had over 2000 in the student body. It became known as the "socialist Eton", and a number of high-profile socialists sent their children to Holland Park School, adding to its...
in London,) databases, etc., in Belgium (école Marie-José in Liège ), in France, in Italy, etc. There has been recent discussion surrounding the biometrics in the uk and the general public have been misinformed about what is actually stored after a print is registered. There is no print stored, merely a series of digits ( some 30 ) that the computer is able to store to a pupil/person. It is impossible to reconstruct a finger print from this useless series of numbers.
United Kingdom
In 2002 the NGO Privacy InternationalPrivacy International
Privacy International is a UK-based non-profit organisation formed in 1990, "as a watchdog on surveillance and privacy invasions by governments and corporations." PI has organised campaigns and initiatives in more than fifty countries and is based in London, UK.-Formation, background and...
has alerted that tens of thousands of UK school children were being fingerprinted by schools, often without the knowledge or consent of their parents . In 2002, the supplier Micro Librarian Systems, which use a technology similar to US prisons and German military, estimated that 350 schools through-out Britain were using such systems, to replace library cards . In 2007, it was estimated that 3,500 schools (ten times more) are using such systems . By 2009 the number of children fingerprinted was estimated to be two million .
Under the Data Protection Act (DPA), schools in the UK do not have to ask parental consent for such practices. Parents opposed to such practices may only bring individual complaints against schools . Concerns have been raised about the civil liberties implications of fingerprinting children in schools . In 2007 Early Day Motion
Early day motion
An Early Day Motion , in the Westminster system, is a motion, expressed as a single sentence, tabled by Members of Parliament for debate "on an early day" . Controversial EDMs are not signed by Government Ministers, PPS or the Speaker of the House of Commons and very few are debated on the floor...
686, which called on the UK Government to conduct a full and open consultation with stakeholders about the use of biometrics in schools, secured the support of 85 Members of Parliament .
In response to a complaint which they are continuing to pursue, in 2010 the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
expressed 'significant concerns' over the proportionality and necessity of the practice and the lack of judicial redress, indicating that the practice may break the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
data protection directive.
Belgium
The alleged use of taking children's fingerprints is to struggle against school truancy and/or to replace library cards or money for meals by fingerprint locks. In Belgium, this practice gave rise to a question in Parliament on February 6, 2007 by Michel de La Motte (Humanist Democratic CentreHumanist Democratic Centre
The Humanist Democratic Centre is a Francophone Christian democratic political party in Belgium. The cdH currently participates in the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region, the Government of the French Community and the Walloon Government.- History :...
) to the Education Minister Marie Arena
Marie Arena
Marie Arena is a French-speaking Belgian politician, member of the Francophone Socialist Party . She was the Minister-President of the French Community of Belgium from July 2004 until March 2008. She then became Minister for Social Integration, Pensions and Large Cities in the federal government,...
, who replied that they were legal insofar as the school did not use them for external purposes nor to survey the private life of children . Such practices have also been used in France (Angers
Angers
Angers is the main city in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France about south-west of Paris. Angers is located in the French region known by its pre-revolutionary, provincial name, Anjou, and its inhabitants are called Angevins....
, Carqueiranne college in the Var — the latter won the Big Brother Award
Big Brother Awards
The Big Brother Awards recognize "the government and private sector organizations ... which have done the most to threaten personal privacy".They are named after the George Orwell character Big Brother from the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.-Countries:...
of 2005 for its hand geometry
Hand geometry
Hand geometry is a biometric that identifies users by the shape of their hands. Hand geometry readers measure a user's hand along many dimensions and compare those measurements to measurements stored in a file....
system, etc.) although the CNIL
CNIL
The Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés or CNIL is an independent French administrative authority whose mission is to ensure that data privacy law is applied to the collection, storage, and use of personal data. Its existence was established by French , concerning computers,...
, official organism in charge of protection of privacy, has declared them "disproportionate." . The CNIL, however, declared in 2002 hand geometry systems to be acceptable.
Early applications
The first reported use of biometric systems in U.S. schools was at Minnesota's Eagan High SchoolEagan High School
Eagan High School is a public high school in east-central Eagan, Minnesota. The school opened in fall of 1989 for ninth grade students and for grades ten through twelve the following year. It is particularly noted for its fine arts programs and use of technology...
in September 1999. Eagan High School, a testing ground for education technology since it opened, allowed willing students to use fingerprint readers to speed up the borrowing of library books.
Penn Cambria School District in Cresson, PA was another earlier user of biometric technology. In 2000, Food Service Solutions
Food Service Solutions
Food Service Solutions, Inc is a software development company based out of Altoona, Pennsylvania that successfully designed and implemented biometrics into a lunchline....
, a local software development company, designed and implemented a system where students bought lunch with just a fingerprint. The American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
stated that this"could hasten the end of privacy rights"
Biometric systems were first used in schools in the UK in 2001. Use of this technology in schools is now widespread, though there are currently no official figures for how many schools employ the technology.
Applications
Biometric technologies in schools are used to borrow library books, for cashless canteen systems, vending machines, class attendance and payments into schools. Biometric technologies for home/school bus journeys are also under development.Misconceptions
The most common misconception about fingerprint systems is that they are thought to store a fingerprint image or other biometric information, which calls into question legal and data protection concerns. However these systems actually work by running key features of the fingerprint through a complicated encryption algorithm. This produces a result which cannot be "reverse engineered" to produce any biometric or image information.This means the data kept on file can only be used to verify an identity against another scan through the same system, the information would be effectively useless to police and 3rd parties.
Types
Primarily the type of biometric employed is a fingerprintFingerprint
A fingerprint in its narrow sense is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. In a wider use of the term, fingerprints are the traces of an impression from the friction ridges of any part of a human hand. A print from the foot can also leave an impression of friction ridges...
scan or thumbprint scan but vein and iris scanning systems are also in use.
Current usage
The two countries at the forefront employing biometric technology in schools are the UK and the USA. Biometric systems are also used in some schools in BelgiumBelgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
but were withdrawn from China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
schools due to privacy concerns. It was reported in August 2007 that Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
are soon due to issue guidance to schools.
Security concerns
Concerns about the security implications of using conventional biometric templates in schools have been raised by a number of leading IT security experts, including Kim Cameron, architect of identity and access in the connected systems division at Microsoft, who cites research by Cavoukian and Stoianov to back up his assertion that "it is absolutely premature to begin using 'conventional biometrics' in schools".Advantages
Biometric vendors claim benefits to schools such as improved reading skills, decreased wait times in lunch lines and increased revenues. They do not cite independent research to support this. Educationalist Dr. Sandra Leaton Gray of Homerton College, Cambridge stated in early 2007 that "I have not been able to find a single piece of published research which suggests that the use of biometrics in schools promotes healthy eating or improves reading skills amongst children... There is absolutely no evidence for such claims".See also
- Biometrics
- Fingerprinting
- Big Brother
- Privacy InternationalPrivacy InternationalPrivacy International is a UK-based non-profit organisation formed in 1990, "as a watchdog on surveillance and privacy invasions by governments and corporations." PI has organised campaigns and initiatives in more than fifty countries and is based in London, UK.-Formation, background and...
External links
- Biometrics in Schools - Latest news on the use and deployment of biometric systems in schools; particular emphasis on UK and US.
- School Biometrics: The Legal Conundrum - Patricia Deubel, Ph.D. / T.H.E. Journal, 10 April 2007.
- Biometrics in K-12: Ban or Buy? (Part 1) - Patricia Deubel, Ph.D. / T.H.E. Journal, 18 April 2007.
- Biometrics in K-12: Issues and Standardization (Part 2) - Patricia Deubel, Ph.D. / T.H.E. Journal, 25 April 2007.
- Biometrics in K-12: Vendor Claims and Your Business Plan (Part 3) - Patricia Deubel, Ph.D. / T.H.E. Journal, 2 May 2007.
- Index of relevant articles by Kim Cameron, architect of identity and access in the connected systems division at Microsoft.
Legislation
The following laws, legal opinions, or guidance are in place to regulate children's use of biometric technology. To date the practise of using biometrics in schools is only legally regulated in the USA:Non statutory advice
USAIreland
- Biometrics in Schools, Colleges and other Educational Institutions 2007 - Data Protection Commissioner
UK
- Portsmouth Finger Scanning Technology Guidance - June 2007. This, the first guidance issued in the UK, went to schools only in the Portsmouth area.
- The use of biometrics in schools - 23 July 2007. Advice from the UK Information Commissioner's Office.