PRIVACY EXPERTS CRITICAL OF ID TAGS

Forcing students to wear photo identification tags around their necks
while on school grounds could lead to misuse if the information
contained within the cards falls into the wrong hands, local privacy
experts fear.

However, both the public and Catholic school systems defend the use of
the cards -- mandatory in most Catholic schools and now one public
school, Dr. E.P. Scarlett -- saying they can be a useful tool in
providing safety and security to students.

Proponents of the cards say they can help protect students from
unwanted intruders in schools, including drug dealers and people
looking for fights.

"It is a big privacy concern and it strikes me as a bit nasty,"
Stephen Jenuth, president of the Alberta Civil Liberties Association,
said Thursday.

"This has gone too far. We are conditioning these children to accept
that there are limitations to their privacy and that that is OK, so
just get used to it. It isn't worth the potential risk to students'
privacy."

Jenuth urged those opposed to take their concerns to the provincial
privacy commissioner.

"Ideas like this show a lack of respect for people."

Alberta's privacy commissioner, Frank Work, was unavailable for
comment Thursday, but a spokesman for the department said no
complaints have been launched.

"As far as I can tell from reading the (Freedom of Information and
Protection of Privacy) Act, there are no rights being violated," said
Tim Chander. "But a lot of it depends on what information is contained
in the cards and what it is being used for."

Neither spokesperson for the Catholic or public board could confirm
what information is contained in the cards. Catholic school board
chairwoman Lois Burke-Gaffney thought the cards contained little more
than a name and picture. However, many of the cards also include bar
codes.

At some schools, the cards are used for library use, photocopiers and
writing exams. Last year at Bishop O'Byrne in the city's southeast,
students were given an identification card. If a student was found out
of class, administrators could swipe the tag with a hand-held device
that tells them where the student should be.

Chander said if parents have a concern, they should file a
complaint.

"Because the act is complaint driven, we would launch an investigation
if we had a complaint from a parent, student or guardian," he said.
"No one likes ID tags to begin with and God forbid schools eventually
get metal detectors."

Neither the Catholic nor public board have mandated the cards, letting
school administrators decide if they wish to introduce them. Graham
White, spokesman for the Calgary Board of Education, said the card
system is a "school-by-school decision."

"The purpose is to notify on a site basis to staff, assistant
principals, school administrators, teachers and other students that
the students that should be in the school are in there and that
individuals that should not be in that school are easily identified,"
he said.

The cards were introduced at E.P. Scarlett after a rash of burglaries
late last year. A young man who pretended to be a student gained
access to the school during the day, stealing computer equipment.

"They decided it would be a good idea to enhance their school security
to have individually displayed student ID tags," said White.

Penalties for not wearing the cards include a verbal warning for a
first offence, community service such as picking up rubbish or helping
in the school's office for a second offence, and being sent home for a
third offence.

Lynn Ferguson, a spokeswoman for the Calgary Association of Parents
and School Councils, said the cards are a good idea, but she has some
concerns.

"I would be worried if a student wore them on the bus or forgot to
hand them in at the end of the day and wore them to the mall or
somewhere in public," she said.

Dr. E.P. Scarlett High School student Jennifer Chapman said students
often wear the tags off campus. That is a concern Chander, Jenuth and
Chris Levy, a University of Calgary law professor, all share.

"Anyone can buy one of these bar code scanners and, depending on what
type of information is one there, have access to the student's
information if the card becomes lost," said Chander.

Levy said he supports the idea of ID cards, but only if the issue of
security is so serious it outweighs the risk to students.

"I just don't understand why they have to have a mug shot on them if
teachers have access to bar code scanners," he said.

Sgt. Tim Loucks of the Calgary Police Service school resource unit
said he would support identification tags in high schools across the
city. "It really assists administration to know who belongs and who
doesn't."

Brian McCallum, principal of Bishop Carroll High School, said his
school of 1,100 students implemented mandatory visible ID cards
several years ago.

"Our environment would be more akin to a junior college, where people
come and go," he said. "We need to know who is coming and going."