Parents Upset Over Lunchtime Palm Scanner

Parents of students at Carroll County schools in Baltimore, Md., say a new policy that scans kids’ palms to pay for their lunches goes too far.

With the PalmSecure system, students hover their hands over an infrared scanner that ID’s them by the unique patterns in their skin and registers a sale, according to a report from the Daily Herald.

The Herald talked to Mike Richmond, who has two children at a Westminster elementary school. He said the scanning started before parents were given the chance to opt-out.

“I didn’t appreciate how they handled it. I’m concerned about it. I know it’s the way of the future, but it’s fingerprinting, it’s palm-printing.”

The district said the goal is to decrease the time it takes to pay for lunches since the children have a limited amount of time to eat their meals.

The controversial system is operating in three Carroll County elementary schools with plans to expand to the whole district within a year. It’s also used in many other schools around the country where there have also been concerns about invasion of privacy as well as the cost of the system. Once implemented, PalmSecure will run the Carroll County district about $300,000.  MSN