Dismissing Religious Belief Concerns, Federal Court Rules in Favor of Texas School’s Expulsion of Andrea Hernandez Over Objections to RFID Tracking Badge

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Declaring that a Texas student’s refusal to wear a chipless RFID tracking badge is “not grounded in her religious beliefs” and is a “secular choice rather than a religious concern,” U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia for the Western District of Texas in San Antonio has denied The Rutherford Institute’s request for a preliminary injunction preventing school officials from expelling Andrea Hernandez until the case is decided.

According to the judge’s order, Hernandez, a sophomore in a science and engineering magnet school housed in John Jay High School, has until the end of the current semester to provide written notice to Northside Independent School District officials as to whether she will accept the school’s accommodation of wearing the Smart ID badge without a chip, which Andrea, a Christian, objects to on the grounds that it represents the “mark of the Beast.” The badges, part of the school’s “Student Locator Project,” include tiny Radio Frequency Identification (“RFID”) chips that produce a radio signal, enabling school officials to track students’ location on school property.

In coming to Andrea’s defense, Rutherford attorneys have alleged that the school’s attempts to penalize, discriminate and retaliate against Andrea violate her rights under Texas’ Religious Freedom Act and the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Institute attorneys intend to appeal the judge’s ruling.