Anaheim school district handing out GPS trackers to chronically absent students

So, it’s like this — if you’re a California gang member, you’re assigned a GPS tracker . And if you’re on track to become a California gang member, you’re also assigned a GPS tracker. Lovely. According to The Orange County Register , the Anaheim Union High School District is handing out GPS trackers to chronically absent seventh and eighth graders, with the six-week pilot program expected to break the habit of skipping by nagging the ever-loving heck out of minors. The plan breaks down as such: if you’ve netted four unexcused absences this year, you and your parents (but mostly your parents) can “volunteer” to have a tracker assigned to the child in question. From there, they’ll need to enter a code five times per day in order to pass muster, and they’ll also be required to field at least three calls per week from a coach — someone who will be checking in on one’s “progress.” The school hopes that having more kids in school will result in fewer kids getting wrapped up in gang activity, and based on successful trials in San Antonio and Baltimore, hopes are understandably high. All told, around 75 students at Dale and South junior high schools are taking part in the pilot program, and district officials are expected to make an expansion decision in due time. Meanwhile, attendance in the weekly Hackers Club has risen significantly in recent weeks, solving the original issue in a very different, roundabout way. Anaheim school district handing out GPS trackers to chronically absent students originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Feb 2011 11:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Posted by on February 21, 2011. Filed under News, Tech. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry