Bar Code Solution Increases Student Safety
Business Situation
A large public school district in the State of Maryland has nearly 134,000 enrolled students; nearly 15,000 of which are special need students. Tracking these students en route to and from school is a priority to ensure student safety. The district real-time visibility to student and bus location because students were manually tracked using pen and paper. Further, compiling these papers from multiple regions taxed district resources and delayed federal reimbursement for Medicaid students.
Business Solution
After a two month trial, the school district board approved a deployment of 500 mobile bar code solutions to buses used totransport special needs children. The multi-partner solution is comprised of a Flic laser bar code scanner that transfers scanned data, via a ScannerPal SP3 phone system to a Sprint phone. Securing the solution is a lockbox, provided by Bluewater Wireless, bolted to the side wall of the bus. As the students board or exit the bus, the driver’s assistant 
accounts for each child by scanning a unique barcode located on the bus driver’s manifest. The bar code entersActsoft’sComet Tracker software and is immediately transmitted to the central office using the Sprint data network. This real-time information allows the central office toaccurately account for each student as well as track the bus and studentlocation. The system provides accurate reporting allowing the district to quickly compile accurate Medicaidreimbursement.
Benefits
- Increased Student Safety – Real time visibility to student and bus location.
- Improved Workflow – Scan & send capability replaces paper forms and manual data entry.
- Maximized Reimbursement – Bar code data collection and electronic transfer enables accurate and timely Medicaid submission and reimbursement.