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A San Antonio company is producing devices that will help make sure that kids do not cut class. The devices will track the students during a six-week time period, providing information about their whereabouts to their parents and school system. Parental permission is required for involvement in the program.

“One time, I was coming to school and I got a text message saying, ‘Your monitor isn’t showing up at school; where are you at?’” one student, Joshua Kim, told the San Antonio Times. San Antonio school districts hopes that the GPS tracking program will not only teach kids “responsibility” but will also raise money for the school districts. Thanks to the GPS tracking program, students are showing up to class 97% of the time — a step in the right direction for a school district that has been plagued by truancy.

Texas does not pay the district if a child does not attend class. Therefore, the district has a different interest than purely instilling responsibility in the kids. While trying to get children to attend class more often through GPS tracking systems is ostensibly well-intentioned, one cannot overlook the fact that money is involved. What do you think? Cynical money-ploy? Or well-intentioned social engineering?

Article Written by Greg Minton