Eatonville School District pauses use of COVID-related tracking monitors for athletes

The Eatonville School District is pausing the use of COVID-related tracking monitors for student athletes and more discussions about the devices will happen soon, a school board member said at a meeting Aug. 25.

People with t-shirts that read, “UNMASK OUR CHILDREN” sat in the bleachers during the gathering at the Eatonville High School Stadium. Parents, teachers and students showed up at the district’s school board meeting to voice their concerns about and support for the tracking monitors and masks.

The tracking monitors on student athletes will be shelved for now, Matt Marshall, school board member, said at the meeting.

The high school’s football team, along with their parents and coaches, planned to meet Aug. 26 to discuss the future of the monitors. Meetings for other sports are still to be determined, Marshall said.

School district leaders released a statement Aug. 24 that the monitors were being used for high contact and moderate indoor contact sports, which includes volleyball, basketball, wrestling, football and soccer.

“The monitors are for both staff (coaches) and students on the field, regardless if they are vaccinated or unvaccinated,” the statement said. “If a student or coach tests positive, we will have immediate information regarding athletes’ and coaches’ contacts, so we can more tightly determine who might need to quarantine.”

The school district said parents were told through an invitation to a parent meeting, communication from coaches and a parent consent form, The News Tribune reported.

The devices are worn on the wrist by most athletes, The News Tribune reported, as opposed to an ankle monitor.

“If you want to use it for your child so they can play sports, right on,” Nicole Hadman, a parent in Eatonville, said at the board meeting. “I don’t want my kid using it.”’

Hadman said she did not give the school consent to put a monitor on her child. When she brought it up to the school, an employee acknowledged it and apologized, she said.

“You better believe someone should be held accountable for my child being tracked without my consent,” Hadman said at the meeting.

Members of the high school’s football team also spoke at the meeting in support of the monitors. Team members expressed not feeling threatened or forced to wear them.

Running back and linebacker Antonio Accarino said there is a big misunderstanding with how the monitors are used on student athletes.

“We don’t take it home, we don’t wear it around school,” Accarino said to The News Tribune. “As soon as practice is done, we take them off.”

Wide receiver and defensive back Reilly McIlraith acknowledged the controversy surrounding the monitors, but said they are meant for a good reason.

“A lot of people are looking for scholarships,” McIlraith said to The News Tribune. “Our coaches are very proactive ... and they’re jumping on opportunities to help keep us playing.”

This story was originally published August 25, 2021 at 9:12 PM.