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

  • Schools In Focus: Talking Campus Security with Mitch McKinley

    Furnishing the Future: Adaptive Solutions for Modern Learning Spaces

    On this episode of Schools in Focus, we'll talk about the role that classroom furniture plays in creating adaptive, flexible learning spaces. Our guest is Wesley Edmonds, the Director of Workplace, Adaptive Solutions at OFS.

  • Pangram Secures Funding for AI Detection Technology

    Pangram, which provides technology that detects AI-generated text, recently announced that it has secured nearly $4 million in pre-seed and seed funding, according to a news release. The most recent round of investments, totaling $2.7 million, come on top of the pre-existing seed fund of $1.25 million.

  • Key Considerations for Office-to-Higher-Education Facility Conversions

    Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, office-to-alternative-use conversions have become a recurring subject of urban development discourse. Office utilization rates across major U.S. cities remain below 50%, with vacancy rates exceeding 27% in San Francisco and 16% in New York. Higher education facilities present programmatic and spatial use cases that align readily with the typical characteristics of commercial office buildings.

  • Design Firm Populous Acquires Fentress Architects

    Design firm Populous, which specializes in sports and entertainment venues, recently announced its acquisition of Fentress Architects, based in Denver, Colo., according to a news release. Fentress’ primary focus is aviation projects and public buildings like museums, convention centers, and government facilities

Digital Edition