Aug
6
Written by:
Bret Rachlin
8/6/2008 9:51 AM
After three shootings took place in Memphis school classrooms last year, the city’s schools will open August 11 with a heightened focus on school security (Source: The Commercial Appeal, 7/25/2008, Memphis city schools impose stringent security). In addition to requiring middle and high school students to pass through metal detectors every morning (at least for a few months), “new high-tech ID badges will allow administrators to scan a student’s badge to find out which class he or she belongs in and to determine their access to other parts of the school building.” Moreover, by December plans are to have 104 officers walking the halls of the city’s middle and high schools.
Memphis school administrators are clearly making a concerted effort to provide the safest learning environment possible for its students, as well as its teachers and other employees. It will be interesting to follow their progress, especially when it comes to access control. By leveraging ID badges that restrict access for students to specific areas of the school (based on where they have classes) is a bold step. If it proves to be successful, then other schools facing similar security issues that Memphis faces may follow suit. Conversely, privacy advocates may scrutinize these ID badges, which are essentially smart cards containing personal student information including their class schedules. Overall, it’s critical that when school administrators implement new security initiatives, they monitor the program’s impact closely, so they can make appropriate changes to mitigate security breaches, as well as mollify any dissenters.
Are you aware of any other schools that are planning to or have limited access in a similar fashion?
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