>>> we're back now with a growing controversy in texas and possibly coming to a school near you. businesses have been using radio frequency microchips to track merchandise for years. but now one of the largest school districts in the lone star state has come under fire requiring students to wear them, monitoring every move they make. here's the report from san antonio .
>> reporter: any of the 1,200 students in the san antonio middle school can be located in an instant because of what they're wearing.
>> it had a tracking device on the back of it.
>> reporter: the students are the first in the country to be assigned radio frequency badges. by using new electronics embedded throughout the school, her staff can instantly locate any student on campus. they help count them and counting students is how schools make money. for every student counted during attendance, the state pays northside about $30 a day. the district, which has laid off teachers and struggled with budget cuts was losing about $7 million a year in part because of poor attendance reporting so the district turned to technology to improve the numbers.
>> the dollars that are generated that are not in the class to answer present, but they're in the nurse's office, the counselor's office, in the gym, et cetera , if we can prove that they were in school, we can still get the money.
>> they're tracking us like we're convicts or something.
>> reporter: steve hernandez whose daughter andrea opposes the electronic badge for religious reasons.
>> my daughter should not have to compromise her faith just because north side school district wants to get paid.
>> the tracking capabilities violation privacy rights .
>> reporter: the school district says attendance numbers are up since the system has been in place, so the badges are here to stay.
Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/49409923/
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