Campus ID News
Card, mobile credential, payment and security
FEATURED
PARTNERS

Florida biometrics bill passes House

Andrew Hudson   ||   Apr 14, 2014  ||   ,

The much-publicized biometrics bill in the state of Florida – SB 188 proposed by Sen. Dorothy Hukill, R-Port Orange – has passed through he House without any additional amendments. The bill awaits Gov. Rick Scott’s signature before becoming law.

The prevailing argument from the bill’s proponents hinges on the suspected delicate nature of a child’s biometric data.

“Biometric information is information that we can’t replace, so we want to make sure that we’re protecting our kids’ information,” says Rep. Jake Raburn, R-Valrico, who spoke on behalf of the bill in the House. “If we’re not collecting that sort of information at the school district level, then we don’t run the risk of there being data breaches.”

Whether this sentiment is the result of a misunderstanding of biometrics as a technology is yet to be seen. With encryption technology, and the capturing of templates – not images of a fingerprint itself – the proper safeguards exist to make biometric authentication systems an effective and efficient tool.

Unfortunately, the transgressions of a few implementations have seemingly blemished biometrics as a technology.

In fact, Hukill and Raburn forged the bill following parent complaints about use of palm and iris scanners for student identity verification. In Polk County, in particular, school officials had obtained student biometric data without prior parental consent.

Senator Hukill has expressed concern that the personal data of students could be sold or used for commercial purposes.

The bill essentially forbids Florida schools from releasing any information on political affiliation, voting history, religious affiliation or other personal data they may be collected. However, the bill has forbidden the use of biometric systems altogether, giving Florida schools a deadline of the end of the 2014-15 school year to phase out all biometric initiatives en route to the development of a state-wide identification system not related to Social Security numbers.

There are a handful of Florida schools that use biometrics to expedite payments in the cafeteria. Once signed into law these schools will have to come up with new systems.

See Senator Hukill and Representative Raburn’s bill here.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

RECENT ARTICLES

Brista Hurst UT Tyler

Learn to analyze card system data at NACCU’s popular Data Summit

In a recent CampusIDNews Chats interview, Brista Hurst-Kent, Business Technology Services Manager at the University of Texas at Tyler, shared her experience attending the NACCU Data Summit. This two-day workshop focused on empowering participants to use common reporting tools – specifically Microsoft Excel with Power Pivot and Power Query – to create interactive dashboards that […]
Credentials 101 Series banner

Understanding chip options for contactless campus cards

Three main components underly modern credential technology – chips, formats, and encryption. Each are applicable to both cards and mobile credentials and understanding them is key to making informed decisions for your campus card program. In this series of articles, we will dive into each component, but first a brief preview. Chips are the core of […]
Apex OrderHQ Array modular lockers
Jul 02, 25 /

Modular locker solution streamlines campus order pickup

Apex Order Pickup Solutions launched a new modular system of automated order pickup lockers that can be stacked or setup in custom configurations. The OrderHQ Array Series lockers work in any floor plan without expensive remodeling. In an interview with Food On Demand, Kent Savage, founder and executive chairman of Apex Order Pickup Solutions, compares […]
CIDN logo reversed
The only publication dedicated to the use of campus cards, mobile credentials, identity and security technology in the education market. CampusIDNews – formerly CR80News – has served more than 6,500 subscribers for more than two decades.
Twitter

Attn: friends in the biometrics space. Nominations close Friday for the annual Women in Biometrics Awards. Take five minutes to recognize a colleague or even yourself. http://WomenInBiometrics.com

Feb. 1 webinar explores how mobile ordering enhanced campus life, increased sales at UVA and Central Washington @Grubhub @CBORD

Load More...
Contact
CampusIDNews is published by AVISIAN Publishing
315 E. Georgia St.
Tallahassee, FL 32301
www.AVISIAN.com[email protected]
Use our contact form to submit tips, corrections, or questions to our team.
©2025 CampusIDNews. All rights reserved.