^{STUDENT'S  OPTICAL ID} 

 ^{RECORDS  CARD}

Everyday, students transfer within  school districts causing added paperwork to school personnel. Records are retained at each school a student attends throughout their years of education.  If prior school records of students  transferring to another school  were easily available on a single card, time and expense could be minimized. Paperwork can be eliminated, keeping all records on a single card. The  School Optical ID Card is an optical memory card which is currently being used around the world  to identify and register students with information of academic and critical medical data.

         The optical memory card is the size of a credit card except the surface resembles that of a CD and holds up to 4.1 megabytes of data. It has been used in major schools in Houston, Texas to store permanent school records.  The optical ID record card is not simply an identification card to access data from a central repository.  The optical memory card has the secure, permanent capacity to store the student's complete school history as it is compiled.

         We propose to place in the schools  computer systems with the ID card reader/writer.  Each system will have the ability to read the data recorded onto the card which is necessary to review a complete student's academic file of all schools attended. All software installed in the system will have the ability to read designated areas of the card, and be able to write data in case of a future transfer to another school.

        In case of a medical emergency, rather than having to call a student's physician to track down the student's medical records, physicians can find much of what they need on the student/patient's optical memory card.  Student's carry a copy in their pocket rather than storing them at their primary physicians office.

         Use of the School ID Card in Houston demonstrated that administrative costs and redundancy were decreased because the student's information was computerized and the duplication of paperwork was avoided.  Multiple security safeguards, such as data encryption, access levels and audit trails can also ensure the student's privacy.

         ID photos of students can be archived onto the surface of the card as well as the inside of the card for identification at any time.