Eye Scanners Used For Lunch FeesI am no ludite, I love technology even more than the next guy!!!!!! But this story is crazy! Why not just issue all kids a photo I.D. card? If you are afraid of them loosing it, then give them a necklace to wear it around their neck at all times, or a bracelet to wear it on their arm...... This whole system sounds primed to get kids used to this kind of intrusive scanning. For some reason, I have a real gut reaction against this idea. I'd rather see them all be issued a lunch-room only debit card than be forced to use eye scanners at every turn.School to Use Eye Scanner for Lunch Fees.c The Associated PressLONDON (AP) - A new high school said Wednesday its students will be charged for their lunches with a retina scanning device to prevent poor children who eat for free from being ridiculed in the cafeteria. Dr. Ed Yates, headmaster of the Venerable Bede school, said the advanced eye-recognition software will be in place when the institution opens its doors to 900 students in September in Sunderland, western England. He said the school is concerned that if students are forced to pay for their lunches in cash the poor ones who receive food for free could be stigmatized. So officials have decided to make the entire school ``cashless.'' The retina scanning device also will be used in the library when students take out and return books, Yates said. He assured parents the low-intensity light of the retina scanning devices will be safe for all students. ``We think we are the first (school) in the country to use this,'' he said of the device. ``But this is not a James Bond school for spies. ... This is not science fiction. This is technology that exists.'' 01/08/03 20:10 EST | 