A new system which uses fingerprint scanners to let kids pay for school lunches is getting raves from students and school administrators, but is making privacy advocates nervous. But Andrew Shen of the Electronic Privacy Information Center worries about how well the information will be protected from being spread around throughout the government. The system from Altoona, Penn.-based Food Service Solutions is currently being piloted in middle and high schools at Tussey Mountain and neighboring Penn Cambria School District in rural western Pennsylvania, and Lower Merion School District in suburban Philadelphia. So far, it's unique to the Keystone state, FSS president Mitch Johns said. When the account runs low, a letter goes out to the parents.
Students can also choose to buy items with cash.
So far, kids have taken to the new system, said Tussey Mountain cafeteria director Deb Stepisianos. And as Tussey's system was a beta test, they've had some trouble with the software, choking up lunch lines. The scanning system was developed in response to a federal regulation requiring that cafeterias hide who's getting free or reduced-price lunches, Curfman said. FSS wants to expand its fingerprint system for use in attendance taking and on school door locks, as the use of biometric scanners is spreading in U.S. schools. Eagen High School in St. Paul, Minn., for instance, has been using fingerprint scanners to check out books at the school library since last academic year.