TRI In The News
TX District Nixes Student-Tracking Program
From One News Now
In a victory for those concerned about government intrusion into the private lives of citizens, a Texas school has decided to cancel its student electronic surveillance program.
John Whitehead of The Rutherford Institute says his firm filed suit in November 2012 against Northside Independent School District on behalf of 13-year-old Andrea Hernandez, who objected to the surveillance badges because of her religious beliefs. Whitehead says the San Antonio-based district has finally decided to drop the program “because of problems getting it moving.”
Whitehead, John (Rutherford Institute)“What they found was that a lot of the students were still objecting to it, so they decided to scrap it – and the lawsuit was obviously part of it,” he tells OneNewsNow. “What it shows, I think, is that if you stand for freedom, sometimes – even when it’s tough – you can make changes.”
School officials cited as reasons for their decision factors such as low participation rates, negative publicity, and the lawsuit.
The attorney says Hernandez, who was expelled from the school in January for her refusal to wear the device, is now seeking to be reinstated to John Jay High School’s Science and Engineering Academy.
“We’re negotiating now with the school district and their lawyers, hoping to get her back into this school,” he explains. “It’s one of the best academies in the area, and she’s a very bright kid. Hopefully they’ll be reasonable and let her back in.”
According to Whitehead, students who refused to cooperate with the “Student Locator Program” were punished by being denied access to the school cafeteria and library and the privilege of purchasing tickets for extracurricular events.
