Being in school every day is vital for a student’s success, and with state funding associated with attendance, it is also important �nancially for school districts to minimize absenteeism. Improvements in ID Card System technol-ogy are helping to streamline the attendance process in timely, cost-e�ective ways. Many districts have discovered that implementing such a system is well worth the commitment and investment, and others are �nding that it’s time to upgrade their current systems.There are a number of important factors to consider when you’re shopping around for an ID Card vendor/partner; here are some key elements to think about.

Dumb Cards or Smart Cards?What do you want your card to do, how much function-ality do you need, how secure must it be, and how fast does the card need to be read? Dumb cards: These are cards with a magnetic stripe or bar code on them that usually do only simple things: they can open a door or pull up a food service or library account. Sta� members typically swipe these cards to enter a building, which is easy enough to do. However, the wear and tear of swiping reduces the card’s lifespan.Smart cards: These cards provide a host of options. They are contactless and use Radio Frequency Identi�cation (RFID) technology; students tap their cards onto a reader and they are logged in, quickly and easily. Readers can be installed on buses, in the classroom, in the cafeteria, in the gym, or in the auditorium, which makes tracking students extremely e�cient. In fact, some con�gurations can process a thousand students in just minutes.Smart cards are coded with a unique ID number that is assigned to one individual; it’s the back-end computer that maintains all the information on that person. This means that additional functionality can be added quickly, all at once, at any time, on the base computer. School districts can start with a straightforward ID system, and add features at a later date when budgets or needs change.Some smart card companies can interact with legacy card programs—those ID card systems that are already in a school district. So the upgrade to smart technolo-gies doesn’t always mean the existing service cannot be used.

To Cloud or Not To Cloud?We hear all about “the cloud”—and we know it’s important—but do you need a cloud-based ID card system?In a non-cloud-based system, your data resides in a server somewhere in your school district. It is maintained by your IT department, and if you needed to expand your memory or upgrade your processing speed, then the district would buy a new, bigger computer/server. If you want to upgrade functionality or software, your IT person has to go from school to school and manage each computer. And if there was a �ood, �re, system crash, or security breach, all of your data could be lost and you’d have to start from scratch. Maintaining a traditional land-based system like this can be very costly—in time as well as in money spent.Cloud computing means that your data resides virtually, in o�-site servers, with backup systems in place, so if something happens, your data is safe and always available. Improvements are also simple to make: because the program resides in one place, it has to be upgraded in only one place, and added functionality can be transferred to every school instantly. This service-based process is more streamlined and cost e�ective.oues o�er signi�cant advantag sure that your vendor/partner uses the highest level of data security available. There are international security standards (PCI, FISMA, SSAE16, to be speci�c), which are used by banks, credit card companies, hospitals and others, so look for them in your cloud-based ID card system.

Emergency! Emergency!Sadly, it seems as though we hear about school lockdowns on a weekly basis. ID card systems can certainly help keep your buildings more secure, but there’s more to it than just knowing who came in the front door.When there’s an emergency, look for an ID card system that can ensure that:• All doors in a building or across the district can be locked down with a single command, which can be issued from any wireless device or any computer. This immediacy improves time to action and can save lives.• An accurate location report is available on a tablet or computer that shows which sta� members and students used their card for attendance and therefore can be identi�ed in the building, in a speci�c room, which can help �rst responders react fast.

What You Need to Know When Shopping for an ID Card SystemDetermining your schools’ needs will help you zero in on the right choice for your district.