District denies enrollment to child based on license plate reader data American parents of school-aged children may want to pay attention to where their cars are parked and for how long, as license plate reader data is now being cited by at least one school district when challenging whether students live where they say they do. According to reporters at NBC 5 Chicago and Telemundo Chicago …
You are not you is what the resident was told. But, says the resident, how can you say that I am not me? Easy, our system has determined that you are walking 500 miles away from here and our tracking system still has you at that location. But, I'm standing here in front of you! Sorry, the system does not lie. It detects you far away and you cannot argue with the system. Therefore, you are not you and cannot be you because you are not here.
They can, admittedly, be inconvenient and the might seem overblown.
However, they are successful in preventing such scary crap straight out of the novel "The Trial" by Franz Kafka ...
School registration
- mortgage statement. Check
- vehicle registration - Check
- utility bills. Check
- driver's license. Check.
- license plate recognition data. Oh, didn't think about that.
What else is next?
Gym club membership? How often you get your hair cut?
In the land of the nonfree, tracking devices are pretty much mandatory already - the design of mobile networks means the location of each device is tracked constantly without any need of an additional cr...app.
Such spying is quite clearly a severe human rights violation and it has been determined that it is illegal for the US government to directly collect the location history (not that it stopped the NSA), but apparently it's legal for the US government to purchase it from companies instead.
"the design of mobile networks means the location of each device is tracked constantly "
To the base station level. No more. Also, only phone operator has direct access to that data. Here in EU it's illegal for them to sell it.
Everything else is depending on GPS and apps on the phone. Knowing that Apple/Google have made very difficult to turn GPS off without shutting whole phone off.
In Symbian turning GPS off was one swipe.
Actually it's to the sector on the base station. It knows which antenna you're in range of and most base stations have at least 3 sector antennae.
And they can triangulate if your phone is within range of more than one cell - sector direction and signal strength.
These figures are all logged; maybe not at great precision, but enough to locate you within a reasonable radius.
Trilateration is used nowadays as it's more accurate; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trilateration?useskin=monobook
Great precision is not even needed when it comes to nefarious purposes - usually town-level accuracy is enough (which doesn't even require any trilateration or multiple towers - just x device has connected to y tower in z town).
I figure an accuracy of ±20m would be easily achievable, which seems to be have been good enough to locate someone and drone strike them in many cases.
Over long time periods, only signal time of flight from one antenna on one tower is enough to determine the location of increasing accuracy over time (especially if the device's location follows a set schedule).
All mobile chipsets have a built-in GNSS chip that cannot be turned off - only asked to go into a low-power mode (in areas in bad GNSS reception, this will result in soon losing GNSS lock, but with decent GNSS reception and the latest GNSS chips, I would expect lock to be retained even in low-power mode).
You can somewhat check by seeing whether GNSS lock takes ~15 minutes to regain after turning GNSS "off" for a few minutes, during which go you somewhere else and then turn it back on, or whether lock has been retained and it takes 10-15 seconds to re-establish precise location (note that nothing prevents the implementation of an artificial delay from 15 seconds to 15 minutes).
It appears that the mobile chipset could report such GNSS information to the tower definitely only for signal measurement purposes.
As for location data being illegal to sell in the EU, try punching "Geospatial Data Analysis Reimagined" into your favorite search engine and on an unnamed website, you'll find a location data heatmap that shows location data for sale that definitely has the EU as dark on the map.
It's hard to tell if the GPS-off button stops collections for GNSS measurement like the following; https://research.google/pubs/android-raw-gnss-measurement-datasets-for-precise-positioning/
I live here.
She lives there.
She sleeps over with me at my place, so her overnight vehicle plate scans will show her as "living" here.
That this common life pattern was disregarded, or never considered, by the morons who (mal-) interpret the data from these systems is yet another example of lunatics running the asylum.
You know, to cover up their hijinks.
"Ok, you've proved you live here but we're not giving a place to the child of a woman whose car has been videoed ram-raiding jeweller. Look, there you are right now, on live TV, in a car chase with the cops!"
In some jurisdictions, US included I believe, registration/license plates are issued by the government office responsible. You can't just rock up to your local Halfrauds and have them run off a couple of "show" plates. You've heard of convicts making license plates?
The system in Japan is modelled after the US system. Same plate dimensions. One of the screws holding the plate on is covered with a tamper evident collar so swapping plates would be obvious without a black market supply of the collars. Not sure if the US goes to that extreme.
Putting inmates to work is not slavery, it is putting otherwise useless criminals to work. Their earnings are used to offset any fines owed as a result of THEIR DECISION to break a law that carries a prison sentence. They are also allowed to keep a small portion that they can use in the prison store, or put back against their eventual release. As I understand it, such jobs are highly sought after by the prisoners as it gives them something to do.
> Putting inmates to work is not slavery,
Yes, it is. That's why the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution specifically exempts it from the prohibition against slavery:
Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
It's just not illegal slavery.
"Putting inmates to work is not slavery, it is putting otherwise useless criminals to work."
There's loads of things inmates could do that government uses all of the time. Printing is one. I'm sure there's loads of others. It would be best of it's job experience that's useful on the outside. Some jails make work programs optional. If you don't want to work, you eat meals that adhere to minimum government standards (which should scare people) and live in minimum government mandated jail conditions. Those that work eat better meals, get more free time and privileges and live in better cells. Somebody that signs up for work that skives off can get sacked or demoted.
"One of the screws holding the plate on is covered with a tamper evident collar so swapping plates would be obvious without a black market supply of the collars."
That would be a very expensive way to combat a very uncommon problem. What would be more common is the R/R of the number plate to perform repairs or maintenance of some kind. People would be causing all sorts of expense at the registering authority every time they needed to remove the number plate. To detect that a seal has been forged would mean a LEO examining the seal closely. At that point, they could read the VIN and compare it to the number plate. I'd not be surprised if some agencies link the ANPR on a police car with it's onboard camera to make sure the plate being read is affixed to the same make/model/year and possibly color of vehicle. I've seen numerous police videos where the criminals weren't careful about which stolen plates they were using.
I'd not be surprised if some agencies link the ANPR on a police car with it's onboard camera to make sure the plate being read is affixed to the same make/model/year and possibly color of vehicle. I've seen numerous police videos where the criminals weren't careful about which stolen plates they were using.
The whole thing is a bit weird. So ANPR and data broking was used to determine that a motor vehicle had a child, and because that vehicle was sleeping in the wrong place, the child wasn't entitled to an education. Which highlights a few issues, like why ANPR data were flogged off to Thompson Reuters, who could then flog it back to the school board. I'm a bit curious how the decision then got made, ie if TR provided an 'out of area' vehicle, or if that's something the school board developed.
But that obviously has privacy concerns, ie if people could also use TR's system to locate their partner's vehicles parked outside hotels, motels or property when the partner had been told they were at a business meeting. IMHO, ANPR should be for law enforcement only and the UK had similar issues that ended up with RIPA being revised to limit council's surveillance powers because they were being abused. But it is a useful tool for LEAs and ANPR is used in patrol vehicles to flag unregistered and unisured vehicles, potentially cloned plates, or if the registered keeper might have an outstanding warrant. Then probable cause to stop the vehicle and investigate the driver.
But then I think the US system is a bit weird anyway, ie in the UK, the licence plate pretty much stays with the vehicle and the owner is supposed to notify DVLA if it's sold. The US gets.. confusing with plates kind of being issued to the owner rather than the vehicle, registratiion stickers (or not) and different states having different rules & regulations that may or may not involve fines and/or long waits at your nearest friendly DMV office. It would seem a lot simpler if the US just went with a UK-style system where the plate stays with the vehicle... But then that would be fun to manage given the US has a lot more vehicles.
Then there's the ID, database and artificial stupidity stuff. Law enforcement needs some way to connect vehicle to owner. School board (or HOA) wants to connect vehicle to revenue. For the person in the article, the vehicle or location of the vehicle should be irrelevant, ie they're resident & paying taxes in the district, so kid should be entitled to a school place. Also pretty sure in the UK, the ICO would take a dim view because registration is PII and data controllers have an obligation to hold and process that accurately.. Which are protections the US doesn't have, and would probably just result in finger pointing between TR and the school board around who f'd up.
Let me give you some background on how this system originated. A company called Flock went around to various cities around the country and told them "we can install camera systems under the guise of safety, we won't charge you for it, we'll just take a bit of the revenue off the top." City governments said "oooh, we can get more revenue coming in without investing any money and pass it off as safety". And thus, red light and speeding camera networks were created. Adjust the speed of some traffic lights, and the free money rolled it.
This of course royally pissed off the proles and they focused their wrath on various elected officials, and the judiciary. Lawsuits were filed and legislatures started using the B word (ban). Flock was even helpfully billing the miscreants, causing the judiciary to say "this doesn't look kosher". Cities tried to get around the Constitution by having police officers 'review' the tickets before they were sent, and making them non-moving traffic violations. (same money, no points against your license) However, the proles were already worked up and were not having it. Some studies showed that red light cameras actually made intersections more dangerous as drivers slammed on their brakes and were rewarded with extra passengers from the distracted driver behind them.
State Legislatures started dropping the ban hammer and city governments decided there are less stressful ways to fleece the masses. Contracts were cancelled and the camera networks were 'shut down'.
Flock said "we aren't walking away from our investment, there must be another way to monetize this." The laws only said tickets can't be issued from camera images. They kept their cameras running, collected data on everyone and not just the rule breakers. Now they index all that data in a large database and sell access to the Federal government to do searches for information on people when they can't get a court to agree. And the information is historical, ICE can look back as far as Flock keeps the data. The latest wrinkle here is that it appears that all you need to get access is money. Such as school districts that need to have their school board replaced in the next election. But wouldn't it be wonderful if you could add all that Ring data and find lost 'pets'... Teflon Flock.
As I was re-reading this, another thought came to mind. I wonder if all the turnpike billing cameras are being run by Flock as well. Since that would be an excellent data collection point.
It wouldn't work. At worst the money for the defence will come from an entirely separate budget. In the US where many official positions are directly elected it can easily be spun the other way, i.e. "these are the steps we are taking to ensure the school admission process is not abused".
I posted here about a related issue (communicating with parents to tell them to apply) about a month ago. It's surprising how many just imagine there is a single list we can refer to to instantly provide us with a list of eligible names complete with up to date addresses, phone numbers and email addresses. Newsflash: such a magical names fairy does not exist.
This is different in that it is a matter of verification rather than publicity, I won't go into what measures we have in place but nothing like this. There is always a human in the loop though, as unusual circumstances can and do happen. I would imagine there has been here too.
We always get complaints along the lines "if I don't get what I want I'm going to the media" and our response is "it is your right to do so". Seriously, do you really think they are interested? "Council enforces rules to stop ineligible children getting school places ahead of those that are actually entitled" is hardly Pulitzer winning stuff, nor does it cast us in a bad light.
What is novel here and has gained the media attention is the methodology but as above, I refuse to believe there is not more to it than that. I suspect this is a case where the parent has been unwilling or unable to provide appropriate alternative evidence in supporting their application and it has been rejected for that reason. Again, if there is a popular, oversubscribed school is it right that those that shout loudest get a place over those that have rightly been deemed eligible?
Per TFA: "she had filed all the required documents with the district to prove residency, including a mortgage statement, vehicle registration, utility bills, and her driver's license"
What more, exactly, should she need to provide?
If there is a query or inconsistency, an explanation or additional evidence as requested. If one source says one thing and another something else there is a duty to follow that up.
It's taxpayer money, and school places are even more constrained. We get complaints every year along the lines of "so and so got in but my kid didn't": there is a responsibility to ensure the system is not gamed.
The mortgage statement alone should have been sufficient. It shows they paid their property taxes, and nothing else is significant. Even if they physically live in another district.
Every place I have owned property (In the US) pays for public schools through per-student Federal funding and tax levies against property. Being a home owner in the district means that you have paid the local taxes for the school district, and NOTHING else should matter.
These rules were written for people who 'borrow' an address so that they can put their kids in a 'better' school. Since they don't own/rent the property, they are getting the school services without paying for them.
Never heard of buy to let? Yes we have had cases where a letting address was used. I'm not familiar with the appropriate regs in the US but here in the UK residency is determined by where the child spends most nights.
Taxes are an irrelevance, after all provision of a school place is not contingent on being a taxpayer.
Taxes are relevant for a PUBLIC school. If not, remove the mill levies and I'll save 70% of the property tax that I pay. Since PUBLIC schools are primarily funded at a very local level, residency checks are used to make sure the people who are receiving the benefits are paying the taxes. If you have a mortgage in a district you have no choice but to have paid them. (well, you can skip it for 3 years, then they will seize your property and sell it)
They didn't create these policies to make sure everyone is a member of the community. They created them to make sure the school gets paid. So if there is an inconsistency, the county tax receipt is the gold standard.
BTW, if you are renting your residence, YOU are paying the taxes. Common landlords aren't charities, all expenses are passed along as rent.
OK, so a 13 year old has a kid... Four or five years years later that kid needs to go to primary school. Mum herself is still in education and thus not paying taxes.
Congratulations. Your pig-headedness has deprived that kid of an education. Be sure to pat yourself on the back in twenty years every time she collects her welfare payment as she is now unemployable.
It doesn't even have to be so extreme, with the state of house prices children are staying with their parents later than ever. The grandparents may pay their property taxes but that doesn't cover the grandchild. Tough, you don't care.
Your taxes pay for a public service - liability for that tax is a political consideration generally based on the individual circumstances. Entitlement to public services is based on an entirely separate set of considerations.
Congratulations. Your pig-headedness has deprived that kid of an education.
WTF are you talking about. I never said anything about denying anyone an education. I told you how US Public Schools are funded and where the concern is about living in-district.
The facts of this case are the mother supplied their mortgage information and the school district says "sorry, we stalked you and your car wasn't in the district on these nights, so we don't believe you". On most US mortgages there is an escrow account that pays for taxes and insurance. This is to protect the lender. But it means you can show your mortgage statement to prove that your taxes were paid. If your property taxes are paid then your kids should benefit from the local schools, regardless of where your car is parked.
BTW, I looked up the financials for my local district. Property taxes within the district pay > 75% of the costs. The state pays slightly more than 10% and the Fed slightly less than 10%.
"I'm not familiar with the appropriate regs in the US"
Cheer up, not many people are familiar with all of them ... There are fifty separate versions, one set for each state. And local districts are allowed to set their own fees, rules and regs, as well. All in all it's a clusterfuck, ESPECIALLY considering that the only object of the game is to ensure the littles get educated. Supposedly.
"Since they don't own/rent the property, they are getting the school services without paying for them."
It's more that the tax money is being allocated based on boundaries. Kids being admitted to a school that live beyond the tax allocation boundaries are tossing a wrench into the accounting. The family is still paying the taxes, but the money isn't being allocated where the expenses are generated.
Plenty of parents have sacrificed to live within the catchment area of a good school. A friend of mine made it a priority that his kids went to a private school and then actively participated in that school's running. He could afford it, but went the extra mile and all of his kids have done very well (except one, but that's been their poor life choices). He could have financed much nicer cars, lived in a fancier home and spent more money on himself (and his wife), but prioritized his kid's education. I get that it's not an option for everybody, but one does the best they can.
Except... the evidence against is seeing a car tag somewhere. Cars are mobile, and their plates are tied to the car and not the driver. If I borrow my neighbor's car, I don't put my plate on his car. I drive the car with the neighbor's plate. Therefore, a car's location cannot, or should not, be used as stronger evidence than a mortgage statement with utilities. Whoever keeps rejecting the application, there's something else going on there.
It's just liberals and their insane need to drag their politics through every thread on every forum they have access to. They seem to think it makes them look intelligent, despite the overwhelming evidence to the contary. You see, INTELLIGENT people know how to discuss different topics by staying on topic. Those with the intelligence of a parsnip lock onto one topic and bleat it out everywhere they go.
She shouild publicly and loudly refuse to enroll her children there. Then they will firce her to and use the same system to do so.
"First god made idiots. That was just for practice. Then he made school boards."
Mark Twain, roughly quoted, said similar about US Congress
Edit, found it...
"In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice. Then he made school boards."
Mark Twain
This can backfire, they'll take the money from the state for the children to be in school, but leave them in limbo indefinitely. This is what happens when school district superintendents are more interested in climbing the ladder than doing their job, a common problem when they're also politically motivated to damage the system they are overseeing.
Taking money from the state is one thing. But many local school districts* obtain additional funding from local residents (via property taxes) to enhance their programs. And these programs and their funds are jealously guarded by the local residents that pay for them. In some districts, by residents "ratting out" commuting students. ALPRs are just a modern version of that. But they allow the local residents to plead ignorance of the practice, since individuals don't have to file a complaint in person.
*I'm not sure about Illinois, Chicago or Oak Lawn School District 126 specifically.
School board meetings are often insane, but it's mostly the handful of irrationally terrified parents who come in clutching bibles and eating a particular student expelled because of the shirt they wore at the mall a week ago than anything the school board itself is doing. The problem is that they make enough noise to get their way.
I’m guessing this company tendered for residence confirmation (nothing wrong with that) and then said oh we can throw in this license plate tracker thing. Never mind the car has a right to be anywhere, especially if a parent travels for work. The parent concerned should challenge that assertion based on lack of consent to be tracked like that. But likely it was in the teeny tiny print of the form they signed. Sigh.
Screw that. I hate sleeping in tents and buffalo gives me gas. Stop living in the past, or thinking that everyone wants to put things back like it was 500 years ago.
Yes, I'm roughly half Native American, mostly Cherokee with some Shawnee, and some Irish and German mixed in for extra flavor. My ancestors got around.
This far predates the license plate reader era. I moved less than ten miles away from one town to another as a kid, in the last two weeks of the school year. Mom had to get special authorization from the state itself to be legally allowed to drive me to my old school for the final two weeks, or I would've had to repeat 2nd grade... after having already been forced to repeat kindergarten due to a cross-country move in the middle of the school year (which I mean, fair enough). We hadn't even legally changed our address yet, no CoA forms at the post office, nothing, just physically changed which house we were sleeping in. But nope, had to get special authorization to finish the school year in "a district I no longer physically resided in".
This was in 2000. AI was still purely sci-fi at the time, cell phones were chonky bricks that only made calls and texts, and the idea of being able to always know someone's location to the centimeter was nothing more than a politician's wet dream that would "never actually be feasible in the real world". To this day, I still have no idea how they knew in real time that I had stopped living in the old house and flagged my academic record immediately as "geographically non-compliant".
"To this day, I still have no idea how they knew in real time that I had stopped living in the old house and flagged my academic record immediately as "geographically non-compliant"."
Something got filed somewhere that they had access to. A new home phone number? At the time, your parent(s) may have updated that to make sure the school had up to date emergency contact information and even if the area code was the same, prefixes (first 3 numbers) are/were allocated geographically. My town is not that large so it's often shorthand to just give the last four digits if the area code and prefix are the most common.
They're really denying her daughter because of the last name of the parent and child. In a city metro that's supposed to be deep blue, and suffered at the hands of a decrepit, old pedophile, there's still a stigma of "We only needed inconsequential proof THIS LATINA doesn't live in district.", and lack of appeal and refusal of the district to give comment says it all. It's worse than a contract with a shady AI company, and using a license plate transfer
