SAN ANTONIO, Texas — After a drawn-out battle waged in court and within the community, school officials with the Northside Independent School District have announced their decision to stop using a student tracking program that relied on RFID tracking badges containing tiny chips that produce a radio signal, enabling school officials to track students’ location on school property. According to school officials, the decision to cease the “Student Locator Project” was due in part to low participation rates, negative publicity, and a lawsuit by The Rutherford Institute. Rutherford Institute attorneys had filed suit against school officials in November 2012 on behalf of Andrea Hernandez, a sophomore at John Jay High School’s Science and Engineering Academy, who was expelled from the magnet school in January 2013 after objecting to the badges based on religious freedom and privacy concerns. The question of whether Hernandez will be permitted to return to John Jay has yet to be resolved.

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SAN ANTONIO - The Northside ISD has decided to not to continue or expand its controversial student ID badge tracking program that resulted in a lawsuit filed by a student.

Northside ISD Spokesman Pascual Gonzalez said the one year pilot program, tested at Jay High School and Anson Jones Middle School, failed to meet its three goals.

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School Officials Reject Request for Accommodation, Kick Andrea Hernandez Out of Magnet School Over Religious Objections to RFID Tracking Program

January 18, 2013

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — In a phone call delivered near the end of the day before a long holiday weekend, school officials at John Jay High School informed Andrea Hernandez that they would not be granting her request to stay at the magnet school. Effective today, Hernandez has been withdrawn from the school and will be expected to report to another area school on Tuesday.

In keeping with a court order to provide school officials with a written decision as to whether or not she will agree to wear an RFID tracking badge to school, Andrea Hernandez had asked school officials at John Jay High School to allow her to continue her “education uninterrupted” by permitting her to use her old ID badge which “does not signify participation in a program which I believe conflicts with my religious beliefs.” The new badges, part of John Jay High School’s “Student Locator Project,” include tiny chips that produce a radio signal, enabling school officials to track students’ location on school property.

Hernandez, who was threatened with expulsion for refusing to wear a chipless RFID tracking badge based on her sincere religious beliefs that it represents the “mark of the Beast,” had her request for a preliminary injunction denied by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Western District of Texas. In coming to Andrea’s defense, Rutherford Institute attorneys alleged that the school’s attempts to penalize, discriminate and retaliate against Andrea violate her rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

“It’s obvious that John Jay High School has no interest in putting their students first, which is a sad reflection on our educational system,” said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. “For our part, we hope that Andrea Hernandez will not be discouraged in her pursuit of justice. She’s a courageous young woman with strong principles, and we commend her for standing up for what she believes in. The case will definitely move forward now, and hopefully, we will eventually find justice in the courts.”

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Andrea Hernandez Stands Firm, Asks School Officials to Respect Her Religious Objections to RFID Tracking Program, Let Her Use Old Badge & Stay in School

January 18, 2013

SAN ANTONIO, Texas —Complying with a court order to provide school officials with a written decision as to whether or not she will agree to wear an RFID tracking badge to school, Andrea Hernandez has asked school officials at John Jay High School to allow her to continue her “education uninterrupted” by permitting her to use her old ID badge which “does not signify participation in a program which I believe conflicts with my religious beliefs.” The new badges, part of John Jay High School’s “Student Locator Project,” include tiny chips that produce a radio signal, enabling school officials to track students’ location on school property.

Hernandez, who was threatened with expulsion for refusing to wear a chipless RFID tracking badge based on her sincere religious beliefs that it represents the “mark of the Beast,” had her request for a preliminary injunction denied by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Western District of Texas. In coming to Andrea’s defense, Rutherford Institute attorneys alleged that the school’s attempts to penalize, discriminate and retaliate against Andrea violate her rights under Texas’ Religious Freedom Act and the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

“John Jay High School has been given an opportunity to do the right thing and take the high road by letting this young woman stay in school and accommodating her religious beliefs by letting her use her old badge—which is what she’s been doing for weeks now with no negative consequences. In the process, the school can send a message to the community that they’re willing to put the students first, which would be a win-win for the school,” said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. “If they choose to kick Andrea out, they’ll give us no choice but to go back to court, which—win or lose—will still be a win for Andrea, because she won’t be forced to compromise her beliefs and she’ll learn a valuable, if painful, lesson about the price one must sometimes pay for freedom.”

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January 11, 2013

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute are asking the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to prohibit Texas school officials from removing high school sophomore Andrea Hernandez from her current academic program at John Jay Science & Engineering Academy pending the outcome of her case. Hernandez, a 15-year-old Texas public school student, was essentially expelled over her refusal to wear a chipless RFID tracking badge based on her sincere religious beliefs that it represents the “mark of the Beast.”

The Rutherford Institute has already appealed a January 8 ruling by U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia for the Western District of Texas in San Antonio denying Hernandez’s request for a preliminary injunction on the grounds that the sophomore’s refusal to wear the chipless tracking badge is “not grounded in her religious beliefs” and is a “secular choice rather than a religious concern.” The badges, part of John Jay High School’s “Student Locator Project,” include tiny chips that produce a radio signal, enabling school officials to track students’ location on school property. In coming to Andrea’s defense, Rutherford attorneys have alleged that the school’s attempts to penalize, discriminate and retaliate against Andrea violate her rights under Texas’ Religious Freedom Act and the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

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January 10, 2013

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute have filed a notice of appeal to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of a 15-year-old Texas public school student who was essentially expelled over her refusal to wear a chipless RFID tracking badge based on her sincere religious beliefs that it represents the “mark of the Beast.”

The Rutherford Institute’s appeal asks that Andrea Hernandez be permitted to continue attending the science and engineering magnet school housed in John Jay High School until the case is decided. The appeal comes in response to a January 8 ruling by U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia for the Western District of Texas in San Antonio denying Hernandez’s request for a preliminary injunction on the grounds that the sophomore’s refusal to wear the chipless RFID tracking badge is “not grounded in her religious beliefs” and is a “secular choice rather than a religious concern.” The badges, part of John Jay High School’s “Student Locator Project,” include tiny Radio Frequency Identification (“RFID”) chips that produce a radio signal, enabling school officials to track students’ location on school property.

In coming to Andrea’s defense, Rutherford attorneys have alleged that the school’s attempts to penalize, discriminate and retaliate against Andrea violate her rights under Texas’ Religious Freedom Act and the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

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SAN ANTONIO — A judge has ruled in favor of the Northside Independent School District in a lawsuit filed over student smart badges.

Andrea Hernandez’s parents filed a lawsuit against the district claiming a requirement that she wear a radio frequency ID badge violates her religious freedom. Northside ISD allowed Hernandez to return to school Monday without the RFID-equipped badge while waiting for the court’s decision.

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