Yvonne and Larry Meadows are suing the Texas Lake Travis School district over computerized background checks it presently conducts on all visitors and parents entering school property.
The computer system, called Raptor, requires either a driver’s license or state issued identification card to be scanned into its system. It then matches the information against a national sex offender database. Once clear, the system prints out a pass for the visitor or parent to enter the school. The schools also have the option of manually entering a person’s name and date of birth into the system.
The Meadows claim that these checks violate their freedom to be able to associate with their own children at school and freedom from unreasonable search and seizure. Neither parent is listed in the sex offender database.
Mrs. Meadows claims her concerns stem from identity theft because her personal information on her driver’s license is being collected by a private company. They have removed their children from the school district and are presently homeschooling.
Christy Rome, a school district official who assisted in creating the background check policy, said that the district administrators chose to use the sex offender database software to make their schools safer.
