Missouri District Pilots RFID Door and School Bus Access

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 02/11/16

A 1,400-student Missouri school district is trying out technology for hands-free door and vehicle access. Hollister R-V School District is working with Tuxen & Associates, a nearby distributor for products developed by Netherlands security company Nedap. The school district has added Nedap RFID card reader technology to its doors and school buses, the latter for vehicle identification.

The doors at the district's schools use "uPass Access," a device that mounts on the locked side of a standard door. It integrates with "most" access control systems and reads access badges at a distance of up to six feet for hands-free building access.

"The addition of this technology combines the best of both worlds — free flow access and maintained security. It's common for teachers and staff to have a handful of items when approaching a door and having to search for and present an access card is both a hassle and a hazard. This eliminates that need," said District Superintendent Sean Woods in a press release. The "added convenience," he noted "has resulted in better compliance with our security protocols. In the past it was more common for teachers to prop open a door or hold the door open for others in order to either be polite or helpful. And while we encourage polite behavior, in this case it was circumventing our security policies. That is very important because the best polices in the world won't work if your people don't adhere to them."

The school system has also installed Nedap's long range vehicle access readers and tags for its school busses. The uPass Reach can identify a vehicle from 16 feet away, ensuring that as buses approach the vehicle yard gate, only authorized drivers are allowed to enter or leave the premises. The security system logs every event and documents which drivers are in which vehicles on any given day. The district is using the same system to stop vehicles under repair from leaving the yard before the maintenance work is done.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • abstract geometric pattern of glowing interconnected triangles, hexagons, and circles in blue, gold, and white, spread across a dark navy-to-black gradient background

    OpenAI Introduces 'Operator' AI for Performing Web Tasks

    OpenAI has announced "Operator," an AI agent designed to perform web-based tasks autonomously using its own browser. Currently available as a research preview for Pro users in the United States, the tool aims to automate everyday activities such as filling out forms, ordering groceries, and even creating memes.

  • digital illustration of Estonia with glowing neural network-like connections spreading across the map

    Estonia to Roll Out ChatGPT Edu for all Secondary Schools

    In a nationwide artificial intelligence program dubbed "AI Leap 2025," the country of Estonia plans to provide free access to leading AI applications for all secondary school students and teachers. The initiative will launch with a rollout of ChatGPT Edu to 20,000 high school students in grades 10-11 and their 3,000 teachers, beginning Sept. 1.

  • glowing digital brain made of blue circuitry hovers above multiple stylized clouds of interconnected network nodes against a dark, futuristic background

    Report: 85% of Organizations Are Leveraging AI

    Eighty-five percent of organizations today are utilizing some form of AI, according to the latest State of AI in the Cloud 2025 report from Wiz. While AI's role in innovation and disruption continues to expand, security vulnerabilities and governance challenges remain pressing concerns.

  • DreamBox Math

    Discovery Education Announces Accessibility Enhancements for DreamBox Math

    Discovery Education has updated DreamBox Math, an online math program for K–8 students to supplement core instruction, to improve accessibility for K–5 students, according to a news release. DreamBox Math provides personalized instruction by adapting to individual learners’ responses and providing an engaging, dynamic learning environment.