Judge: School Can Make Students Wear Tracking Device

Pencils? Check. Textbooks? Check. Tracking devices? Check. A judge in Texas has ruled against a student who was expelled after she refused to wear a tracking device mandatory for all students at her high school. The case is making its way toward federal courts, but come spring semester Andrea Hernandez, 15, will either have to return to her magnet school wearing the device or opt to go somewhere else, reports Reuters. Groups on both ends of the political spectrum have spoken out against Jay High School's controversial policy.

"We should not be teaching our children to accept such an intrusive surveillance technology," says a rep from the ACLU. But the school maintains that it is not trying to spy on students. The technology works only within the walls of the school and is used to detect students who may be loitering in hallways or stairwells between classes. Because the school gets funding based on how many kids are in class when the bell rings, the devices could save big bucks—the school says it loses $1.7 million a year because of absent students. (More court stories.)