Anonymous claimed responsibility for taking down the Northside Independent School District‘s website today in retaliation for tracking its students.
“These ‘student locator’ programmes are ultimately aimed at getting students used to living in a total surveillance state where there will be no privacy, and wherever you go and whatever you text or email will be watched by the government.” tr1xxyAnon said. Anonymous’ message is the same as John Whitehead’s. Whitehead is the president of the Rutherford Institute.
Controversy has surrounded the district’s new student IDs used at John Jay High School and Jones Middle School. Inside the ID is an RFID chip that tracks the students whereabouts throughout the day. According to the district, it only tracks the students while they are in school. The district posted a letter to parents on its website, which is offline at the time of publication, about the new IDs. Their reasoning is that they will be able to keep track of attendance easier and get more funding from the state.
Parts of the letter to John Jay High School parents said: “After all, parents, you expect school staff to always know where your children are during the school day … think how important this will be in the case of an emergency.”
According to Russia Today, Andrea Hernandez, a sophomore at the high school, said that she saw it as the mark of the beast and refused to wear it. The district threatened to expel her by Nov. 26 if she chose not to comply.
However, a judge sided with Hernandez on Wednesday, according to KENS5 News. They reported that the judge ruled that the prinicpal’s actions violated Hernandez’s speech and religion. The judge granted a restraining order that bars the principal from removing her from school and said the school can’t interfere with her “anti-SmartID message.” She will also be awarded compensation to be determined by the court.