Nancy Hull, St. Joseph News-Press, Mo.
National controversy over a high-tech lunchroom system that requires a finger scan for chicken nuggets has spread to Plattsburg, Mo.
The Clinton County School District joined the national list of school districts moving toward a lunchroom system where students swipe their fingers instead of debit cards.
Since the system requires the electronic fingerprinting of students, some district parents have raised security concerns.
Could our children's identities be stolen if this system is hacked? What if the district hands the information over to law enforcement or others without our permission? More than anything, they're upset that district staff fingerprinted Clinton County students without notifying parents.
"I have to sign a permission slip for my kid to watch a PG movie, but then they go and take my kid's personal information from a fingerprint without my permission?" asked parent Keith Felts.
Superintendent Mike Lord said he did make a mistake by not notifying parents ahead of time or giving families the chance to opt out.
Yet he insists the system is safe. He says the district is simply trying to solve the issue of students losing their lunch cards by moving toward a system that requires students to do one thing: bring your fingers to lunch.
"We don't believe that what we're doing is an invasion of privacy," Mr. Lord said. "I do understand these parents' concerns. But I've researched this, and I don't think there is anything to be worried about."
While no school with the system has experienced security breaches, as more schools have added the systems, concerns about the unknown have risen.
Some districts throughout the nation have either dropped proposals to go with the system or implemented and then abandoned the systems due to community backlash and opposition from the American Civil Liberties Union.
At least two states have legislation banning the systems, and at least one state requires districts to receive parental consent before taking the fingerprints.
Clinton County 's system caught the attention of state Rep. Jim Guest, R-King City .
"I'm upset that the children were forced to give up their biometric fingerprint," Mr. Guest said. "This is an invasion of privacy."
Here's how the system works:
A student places a finger on a piece of metal, which transfers the fingerprint image to a computer screen. The computer changes the image to a numeric code and deletes the image. When the student goes through the lunch line, he or she places a finger on a scanner. The scanner syncs with the computer to match the fingerprint scan to the code -- a process known as biometrics . A successful match activates the student's lunch money account.
The system is rare in Missouri . Officials with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education said they don't know of any schools using the system.
System companies and school district officials, including Mr. Lord, emphasize that if someone hacked into the system, the person would find only a bunch of numeric codes, not fingerprints. They say the fingerprints can't be re-created and that the codes can't be linked back to a person.
Opponents, including Mr. Guest and those who run the Web site www.leavethemkidsalone.com, say it's possible to link the codes to people and reproduce the fingerprints. They say if the wrong people get hold of the systems, identity theft problems, such as wrongful criminal convictions and drained bank accounts, could follow.
Clinton County will begin using the system in the fall. Mr. Lord said that parents who do not want their children in the system can request to have their children's information deleted. He said parents are invited to watch the district delete their children from the system.
Nancy Hull can be reached at nancyhull@npgco.com