Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Nebraska SD Scan Student Fingerprints for School Lunch

  • By Yvonne Marquez
  • 11/04/19

Scott Middle School recently joined other Lincoln Public Schools that use biometric finger scanning to pay for lunch, reported the Lincoln Journal Star. Elementary and middle school students in the Nebraska district now can pay for lunch with a touch of their finger instead of carrying a lunch card or remembering a PIN.

The decision to implement the software was to streamline school lunch lines and give students more time to eat, LPS Nutrition Services Director Edith Zumwalt told the Lincoln Journal Star. Previously, the district used a cash register system that required a six-digit PIN. Teachers helped young students memorize their number which was time-consuming. Other schools used lunch cards that can be scanned but kids often forgot them. Finger scanning was a solution to these problems.

The way it works is each student’s finger is scanned and the software identifies unique points on the finger which are stored and used to identify students. Each time a student gets their meal, the software searches for a match in the school’s database.

With new technology comes privacy and security concerns. Zumwalt assures the technology can’t be used anywhere else and the software doesn’t keep the students’ fingerprints. Furthermore, the information gathered from the software is protected by federal student privacy laws. Parents also have the option of opting out their kids.

LPS purchased scanners from identiMetrics that cost $600 apiece. The company works with schools around the country and can be used for library, attendance and other identification needs in schools.

About the Author

Yvonne Marquez is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Surging Demand for Student Housing Fuels Major Campus Investment Opportunities

    University leaders throughout the U.S. are accelerating plans to modernize and expand student housing as enrollment stabilizes and demand for on-campus living rebounds. Recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics indicates that total postsecondary enrollment is projected to grow through the end of the decade, with undergraduate enrollment alone expected to increase by more than 8 percent by 2030.

  • Wold Architects & Engineers Acquires VPS Architecture

    Full-service planning, architecture, and engineering firm Wold Architects & Engineers recently announced that it has acquired VPS Architecture, according to a news release. The move will help strengthen Wold’s education and public-sector design expertise, industries in which both companies have strong pre-existing ties and relationships.

  • Florida District Completes Construction on New Leadership Institute

    Pinellas County Schools near Tampa, Fla., recently announced that construction is complete on the new Dr. Michael A. Grego Leadership Institute, according to a news release. The district partnered with Rowe Architects for the project’s design and with Skanska for construction services.

  • University of Kansas Breaks Ground on Entrepreneurship Hub

    The University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kan., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new KU Entrepreneurship Hub, according to university news. The Hub is part of the university’s School of Business and will include spaces for experiential learning and programming.