April 2007 — News
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Biometrics in K-12: The Legal Conundrum
Indeed, the coding process involved from capturing the original fingerprint, extracting sufficient points of identification, and translating them to a numeric template does not allow for the process to be reversed. For example, see the brief description of the biometric scanning process used in the Sagem MorphoTouch product. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires agencies that keep health records, including schools, to maintain their privacy. HIPPA sets conditions for access, use, and disclosure of individually identifiable health information collected and identifies when written consent is needed for disclosure. That information might be on paper, spoken, or stored on a computer. Thus, district employees should be aware that if biometric identifiers are in health records, they should be protected from disclosure by that act. HIPAA training should now include that mention (Wright State University, 2006). Woodward (1998) notes there is research suggesting that fingerprints and fingerprint images might disclose information about the health of an individual (p. 9).
The Americans with Disabilities Act has implications for use of biometric devices, as the act calls for reasonable accommodations for accessibility to be made for those individuals. Thus, placement of biometric devices, and choice of biometric (e.g., fingerprint, handprint, voice recognition, iris recognition), and the ability of the individual to actually use a biometric impact a district's implementation plan. Provisions for exceptions must also be made, which would then extend to other groups, such as those with religious and cultural concerns about using biometrics.
In the event that your school or district opts out of collecting biometrics for its own databases and you have parents concerned about finding a missing child, you can contact Child Protection Education of America (n.d.). CPEA has an ID ME NOW fingerprinting program and will arrange to fingerprint children for free at events for large groups of people. Parents receive a fingerprint card with the scanned prints of 10 fingers in forensic quality and a digital photo. The card contains space for parents to add other vital information. CPEA does not retain the information.
So much can be said about biometrics in K-12. The legal side is just the tip of the iceberg, and, at best, I've just tweaked your interest. You might look for my upcoming three-part investigation of this topic in T.H.E. Journal K-12 Tech Trends, "Biometrics in K-12: Buy or Ban?"
