District considers piloting new GPS, student tracking technology

SEEKONK, Mass. — Seekonk Public Schools (SPS) is considering having a GPS and facial recognition system installed on one of its buses as part of a pilot program on buses and student tracking for Volpe Industries Inc., a video surveillance systems supplier.

According to an article on EastBayRI.com, Volpe Industries’ president and CEO said in a letter to an SPS school committee that the trial program would involve mounting two small cameras, a mini computer and GPS tracking equipment in the bus.

The system, through its components, has the ability to monitor buses and provide their location in real time. School administration can also view the interior of all buses, with optional listen and talk capabilities.

Additional capabilities include video recording of all activity on the bus; tracking of students with facial recognition to confirm that they boarded and disembarked the correct buses; and profile information can be displayed to each driver, such as a child’s special medical needs or who is allowed to pick up the child.

The news source reports that the school committee has forwarded the matter to its legal counsel to determine what ramifications the proposal could have on student confidentiality, or other such issues.