{"id":683731,"date":"2021-08-25T15:51:23","date_gmt":"2021-08-25T19:51:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=683731"},"modified":"2021-08-25T15:51:26","modified_gmt":"2021-08-25T19:51:26","slug":"high-school-forced-student-athletes-to-wear-taxpayer-funded-ankle-monitors-to-track-covid-outbreaks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/high-school-forced-student-athletes-to-wear-taxpayer-funded-ankle-monitors-to-track-covid-outbreaks\/","title":{"rendered":"High School Forced Student Athletes To Wear Taxpayer-Funded Ankle Monitors To Track Covid Outbreaks"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhigh-school-forced-student-athletes-to-wear-taxpayer-funded-ankle-monitors-to-track-covid-outbreaks%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=683731&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/GettyImages-1149608785.jpg?w=1200&amp;h=800&amp;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p>A public high school in Washington state allegedly forced student-athletes to wear taxpayer-funded ankle monitors to help track coronavirus outbreaks or be barred from participating in sports.<\/p>\n<p>Eatonville High School, about 60 miles south of Seattle, required student-athletes to wear the ankle monitors for high-contact and medium-contact sports such as volleyball, football, basketball, wrestling, and soccer.<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cTrace Tag\u201d monitors are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.triaxtec.com\/social-distancing-contact-tracing\/\">manufactured<\/a> by a company called Triax and have an alarm alerting the wearer when they get too close to another person. The device also collects contact tracing data in case a wearer later tests positive. The device can also be affixed to a hardhat or worn elsewhere on the body.<\/p>\n<p>The monitors were used by both coaches and students on the field, \u201cregardless of vaccination status,\u201d the school said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eatonville.wednet.edu\/ehs\/athletics\">fact sheet<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf an athlete were to test positive for COVID-19, the entire team could be quarantined,\u201d the school said. \u201cBy using the proximity monitors we can immediately determine who might have been exposed to Covid-19.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson for the school <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailydot.com\/debug\/eatonville-high-school-ankle-monitor-covid\/\">told<\/a> The Daily Dot that students could opt out of wearing the monitor, but they would not be allowed to participate in sports.<\/p>\n<p>The school assured that students are not being tracked, however.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe proximity monitor contains radio-based sensors that track distance between individuals wearing the device, as well as length of time spent in proximity to one another. The monitor is only worn during participation in the sport,\u201d the school said.<\/p>\n<p>Parents were supposed to sign off on the ankle monitors through a parental consent form, but at least one parent was reportedly not informed.<\/p>\n<p>The mother of a 15-year-old girl <a href=\"https:\/\/thepostmillennial.com\/exclusive-washington-public-school-forces-unvaccinated-teens-to-wear-ankle-monitors\">told<\/a> The Post Millennial that her daughter was forced to wear the ankle monitor during her volleyball team practice.<\/p>\n<p>The mother contacted the athletic director, who she claimed acknowledged that the school had mistakenly failed to obtain her consent for the monitor and apologized for the \u201cslip up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The school has now \u201cshelved the devices until proper procedures including community input and board approval process occur,\u201d school board director Matt Marshall told the outlet.<\/p>\n<p>Another parent said he signed the form reluctantly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was notified if I didn\u2019t sign it, they couldn\u2019t play,\u201d Jason Ostendorf, who has two children playing sports at the high school, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenewstribune.com\/sports\/high-school\/article253713658.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told<\/a> the Tacoma News Tribune. \u201cI signed it reluctantly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re putting tracking devices on my kid,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The outlet also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenewstribune.com\/sports\/high-school\/article253713658.html\">reported<\/a> that unvaccinated kids who test positive or are near someone who tests positive must quarantine for two weeks, while vaccinated kids who test negative can return to playing sports after only three to five days.<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, Eatonville School District Superintendent Gary Neal penned an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eatonville.wednet.edu\/ehs\/athletics\">open letter<\/a> addressing some of the concerns around the ankle monitors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis system prevents taking students out of school and athletics unnecessarily,\u201d Neal wrote. \u201cIt allows us to keep more students engaged and involved in class as well as athletic activities. This is a top priority for staff and families here in Eatonville. This school year we can expect numerous changes and for situations to be dynamic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The ankle monitors were purchased with federal coronavirus relief money, according to Neal. He compared the monitors to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nfl.com\/playerhealthandsafety\/health-and-wellness\/covid-19\/nfl-is-using-technology-to-modernize-contact-tracing-prevent-spread-of-covid-19\">devices<\/a> used by the NFL during practices and team travel. However, the NFL devices are worn as a wristband or on a lanyard, not as an ankle bracelet.<\/p>\n<p>Eatonville High School did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<p>The school board is expected to discuss the ankle monitors at a board meeting Wednesday evening.<\/p>\n<p><i>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a member.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A public high school in Washington state allegedly forced student-athletes to wear taxpayer-funded ankle monitors to help track coronavirus outbreaks or be barred from participating in sports.Eatonville High School, about &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-683731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/683731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=683731"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/683731\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=683731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=683731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=683731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}