Federal Judge Sam Sparks has ruled in favor of the Lake Travis Independent School District in a lawsuit filed by Yvonne and Larry Meadows. The suit objected to software intended to protect Lake Travis students while they are on campus.

The Meadowses said the district’s “Raptor System,” a face  identification system that requires all campus visitors to provide a  photo identification for scanning that allows the district to perform  a quick check to scan for registered sex offenders, violated civil  rights.
“Schools have a compelling interest in the safety of their students,” Sparks wrote in his decision. “Therefore, requiring production of a driver’s license in order to verify the identity and sex offender status of a visitor is a reasonable action.”
The suit was filed in the 250th Judicial District against Bee Cave Elementary Principal Janie Braxdale and LTISD.
According to Yvonne Meadows, the problems with LTISD started in September of 2006 at the Bee Cave campus.
“That was the first instance of me being denied entry, but there were a couple of additional instances beyond that.”
She said the most embarrassing to her was being refused entry into the 2006 Thanksgiving dinner at BCE.
“That was it for me,” Yvonne Meadows said. “I just took the children out of school after that. I objected to the whole idea of parents having to fork over all this information to an unknown company to see their own children.”
Her husband Larry is an attorney and represented them in the lawsuit. He alleged the system violated several state laws, as well as federal civil rights statutes, and alleged that information submitted could leave those on the database vulnerable to identity theft.
However, the court found no violation of due process, privacy, or freedoms of speech, assembly, or association under the U.S. Constitution.
“In the educational world following the Columbine school shooting and the increased visibility of and sensitivity to sex offenders, schools have not only an interest, but a duty to take appropriate steps to protect our children while they are at school,” Sparks said in his opinion.
LTISD Superintendent Dr. Rocky Kirk said the decision vindicated the  school district’s decision to protect students from registered sex  offenders.
“The judge’s ruling affirms that our schools are acting reasonably when they ask parents and visitors to provide identification upon entering a campus or location where students are present,” Kirk said. “Furthermore, we are relieved this long, arduous process has come to a close.”
The Raptor system, endorsed by the U.S. Department of Justice, is currently used by more than 6,000 campuses in 40 states. The company said its software has positively identified more than 1,700 registered sex offenders entering U.S. schools between 2008-09 school year. The Raptor system does not, however, perform criminal background checks. But in 2007, the Texas State Legislature passed a bill permitting all Texas school districts to require a visitor to provide photo identification and to verify whether or not a visitor is a registered sex offender prior to being permitted access to a campus. Yvonne and Larry Meadows have filed a separate lawsuit in state district court challenging the District’s use of the Raptor system.
“LTISD parents and community members, recognizing the value of the Raptor system as a reasonable tool to ensure the children of our district are safe at school, have been overwhelmingly supportive,” Kirk said. “We will continue to take measured and appropriate steps to protect the safety and security interests of our students, staff, and visitors to our schools.”
For E. Allan Measom, President and CEO of Raptor Technologies Inc., the decision affirmed his faith in the technology.
“When this lawsuit was filed last year, media outlets – the Associated Press and others – ran the story across the nation,” Measom said. “Lake Travis ISD and Raptor Technologies fielded hundreds of worried calls over the possible implications and impact of the case. Now that the federal court has spoken, the media won’t touch the story.”
Measom said the decision was “a victory for schools, and Lake Travis ISD should be applauded for taking a stand on this issue. All school administrators should read the summary judgment. It speaks volumes. Every school district across the nation should have a copy on hand.”