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

  • Virginia Tech Tops Out New College of Engineering Building

    Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., recently celebrated the topping out of Mitchell Hall, which will soon stand as the largest College of Engineering building on campus, according to a news release. The university partnered with Skanska on the 285,500-square-foot facility, which has an expected completion date of winter 2028.

  • St. Lucie County, Fla., Breaks Ground on New K–8 School

    St. Lucie Public Schools in St. Lucie County, Fla., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new K–8 school, according to a news release. The district partnered with Spiezle Architectural Group, Inc., for the design of the upcoming Ft. Pierce K–8 School, which comprises six buildings covering 215,000 square feet.

  • Wyoming District Breaks Ground on New Elementary School

    Laramie County School District #1 in Cheyenne, Wy., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the upcoming Mountain View Elementary School, according to a news release. The facility has an estimated completion date of summer 2028, and it will have the capacity for 650 students in fifth and sixth grade.

  • URI Cuts Underwater Ribbon on New Ocean Robotics Laboratory

    The University of Rhode Island recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new Ocean Robotics Laboratory at its Narragansett Bay Campus, according to a news release. Two students used a remotely operated vehicle to cut an underwater ribbon in a 30-by-20-foot test tank.