SAN ANTONIO, Texas ? In a phone call delivered near the end of the day before a long holiday weekend, school officials at John Jay High School informed Andrea Hernandez that they would not be granting her request to stay at the magnet school. Effective today, Hernandez has been withdrawn from the school and will be expected to report to another area school on Tuesday.

In keeping with a court order to provide school officials with a written decision as to whether or not she will agree to wear an RFID tracking badge to school, Andrea Hernandez had asked school officials at John Jay High School to allow her to continue her "education uninterrupted" by permitting her to use her old ID badge which "does not signify participation in a program which I believe conflicts with my religious beliefs." The new badges, part of John Jay High School's "Student Locator Project," include tiny chips that produce a radio signal, enabling school officials to track students' location on school property.

Hernandez, who was threatened with expulsion for refusing to wear a chipless RFID tracking badge based on her sincere religious beliefs that it represents the "mark of the Beast," had her request for a preliminary injunction denied by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Western District of Texas. In coming to Andrea's defense, Rutherford Institute attorneys alleged that the school's attempts to penalize, discriminate and retaliate against Andrea violate her rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

"It's obvious that John Jay High School has no interest in putting their students first, which is a sad reflection on our educational system," said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "For our part, we hope that Andrea Hernandez will not be discouraged in her pursuit of justice. She's a courageous young woman with strong principles, and we commend her for standing up for what she believes in. The case will definitely move forward now, and hopefully, we will eventually find justice in the courts."

The Northside Independent School District in San Antonio, Texas, has launched a program, the "Student Locator Project," aimed ostensibly at increasing public funding for the district by increasing student attendance rates. As part of the pilot program, roughly 4,200 students at Jay High School and Jones Middle School are being required to wear "SmartID" card badges embedded with an RFID tracking chip which will make it possible for school officials to track students' whereabouts on campus at all times. School officials hope that by expanding the program to the district's 112 schools, they can secure up to $1.7 million in funding from the state government.

Fifteen-year-old Andrea Hernandez has been penalized, discriminated against, and retaliated against by school officials for objecting to being forced to participate in the RFID program. For Hernandez, a Christian, the badges pose a significant religious freedom concern in addition to the obvious privacy issues. Andrea's religious objection derives from biblical teachings that equate accepting a personalized code?as a sign of submission to government authority and as a means of obtaining certain privileges from a secular ruling authority?with a form of idolatry or submission to a false god.

Hernandez was informed that "there will be consequences for refusal to wear an ID card." For example, students who refuse to take part in the ID program won't be able to access essential services like the cafeteria and library, nor will they be able to purchase tickets to extracurricular activities. According to Hernandez, teachers are even requiring students to wear the IDs to use the bathroom. School officials offered to quietly remove the tracking chip from Andrea's card if the sophomore would agree to wear the new badge without the embedded RFID chip so as to give the appearance of participation in the Student Locator Project. Andrea refused the offer, believing that to wear the "mark" of the program would still compromise her religious beliefs. Affiliate attorneys Anand Agneshwar and Anna Thompson of Arnold & Porter and private practitioner Jerri Lynn Ward are assisting The Rutherford Institute with Andrea's defense

This week, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa urged the IRS to provide penalty relief to farmers who are ordinarily required to file and pay all taxes due by March 1.   Due to late action by the President and Congress on end of the year tax matters, the tax season has been delayed, and many forms necessary for farmers to complete their returns have yet to be finalized.   Today, the IRS announced it will provide penalty relief to farmers who request a waiver and complete their tax returns by April 15, 2013.  Grassley made the following comment on the announcement.

"This is good news.  Farmers shouldn't face a penalty for tax season delays that have nothing to do with them.  The IRS is right to provide relief from penalties.  I look forward to the guidance the IRS announced it will issue in the near future to help farmers file their taxes without penalty."

More information on Grassley's request to the IRS is available here.

The text of the IRS news release follows.

IRS Provides Penalty Relief to Farmers and Fishermen

IR-2013-7, Jan. 18, 2013

WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service announced today that it will issue guidance in the near future to provide relief from the estimated tax penalty for farmers and fishermen unable to file and pay their 2012 taxes by the March 1 deadline due to the delayed start for filing tax returns.

The delay stems from this month's enactment of the American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA). The ATRA affected several tax forms that are often filed by farmers and fishermen, including the Form 4562, Depreciation and Amortization (Including Information on Listed Property).  These forms will require extensive programming and testing of IRS systems, which will delay the IRS's ability to accept and process these forms.  The IRS is providing this relief because delays in the agency's ability to accept and process these forms may affect the ability of many farmers and fishermen to file and pay their taxes by the March 1 deadline. The relief applies to all farmers and fishermen, not only those who must file late released forms.

Normally, farmers and fishermen who choose not to make quarterly estimated tax payments are not subject to a penalty if they file their returns and pay the full amount of tax due by March 1. Under the guidance to be issued, farmers or fishermen who miss the March 1 deadline will not be subject to the penalty if they file and pay by April 15, 2013. A taxpayer qualifies as a farmer or fisherman for tax-year 2012 if at least two-thirds of the taxpayer's total gross income was from farming or fishing in either 2011 or 2012.

Farmers and fishermen requesting this penalty waiver must attach Form 2210-F to their tax return. The form can be submitted electronically or on paper. The taxpayer's name and identifying number should be entered at the top of the form, the waiver box (Part I, Box A) should be checked, and the rest of the form should be left blank. Forms, instructions, and other tax assistance are available on IRS.gov.

Nine scholarships are now offered through the Moline Foundation. The followingis a list of scholarships, criteria and deadlines:

1. Srikanth Yerra Scholarship - Due Friday, March 1, 2013 $500 non-renewableMust live within Moline School District No. 40 boundariesGraduate of Class of 2013 or Community College studentpreparing to transfer to a 4 year collegeMinimum 3.5 grade pointBased on financial need, potential for future personal achievementSubmit: Transcript, 3 letters of reference, brief essay about yourself (200 words)

2. Lee McAllister Scholarship - Due Friday, March 1, 2013 $1,000 non-renewableGraduate from Moline High School Class of 2013, plan to major ineducationMinimum 2.75 grade pointBased on financial need, potential for future personal achievement, abilities,school & community activities and strong academic recordSubmit: Transcript, 3 letters of reference, brief essay (200 wordson "Why are you entering the field of education?")

3. Moline High School Class of '59 Scholarship - Due Friday, March 1, 2013 Amount and number of awards determined annuallyGraduate from Moline High School Class of 2013Minimum 2.8 grade pointBased on service-oriented activity in place of worship, school, orcommunitySubmit: Transcript, brief statement (1-2 paragraphs) "What do youanticipate your life to be like in 50 years?"

4. Clement T. Hanson/Butterworth Center Arts Scholarship ** - Due Friday, March 1,2013 Three $1,500 four year scholarships renewable based on continued financial needand scholastic achievement (Total: $6,000) Two $2,000 four year scholarships renewable based on continued financial needand scholastic achievement (Total: $8,000) Must live within Moline School District No. 40 boundaries Graduate from Class of 2013 or Community College studentpreparing to transfer to 4 year universityMinimum 2.5 grade point Based on financial need, potential for future personal achievement,and personal interviewSubmit: Transcript, 3 letters of reference, brief essay about yourself (200 words orless)

** Two scholarships share same application. Emphasize arts and music involvement ifyou wish to be considered for the Butterworth Center Arts Scholarship.

5. Dolores A. Hulse-DiIulio Scholarship - Due Friday, March 1, 2013 $1,000 renewable (eligible to reapply annually and compete withincoming freshmen candidates and other previous scholarship recipients)Must be a female and graduate of Class of 2013 at Moline High SchoolMust intend to pursue a bachelor's degree on a full-time basis in thefields of chemistry, physics, engineering, or pre-medicine.Must attend a public university or college located in IllinoisApplicant must be in upper one-fourth of classBased on desire to achieve, abilities, strong academic record, potential for futurepersonal achievement, and letters of referenceSubmit: Transcript, 3 letters of reference, brief essay (200 wordsor less) "Why are you entering your chosen field of study?"

6. Maggie Webb Scholarship - Due Friday, March 1, 2013 Amount and number of awards to be determined annuallyMust be graduating senior from Moline High School Class of 2013Minimum 2.8 grade pointBased on community involvement (with at least one service orientedactivity in place of worship, school or community) and essaySubmit: Transcript, Essay (2-3 pages long, double spaced) "If you were to leavethis earth tomorrow, what would be your legacy?"

7. Lee Womack Scholarship - Due Friday, March 1, 2013 Amount and number of awards to be determined annuallyMust be graduating senior from Moline High School Class of 2013 with plannedmajor in Education. Special preference will be given to applicants planning tomajor in Special EducationMinimum 3.0 grade pointBased on community involvement (with at least one service-orientedactivity in place of worship, school or community), and letterSubmit: Transcript, Letter (state why you want to obtain anEducation degree and your goals and how you feel this wouldbe an asset to you and the community), three letters of recommendation

8. Stan Woods Scholarship - Due Friday, March 1, 2013 $1,000 scholarship annually non-renewableMust be graduating senior from Moline High School Class of 2013Minimum 3.0 grade pointBased on community involvement and leadership, academic achievement andessay ("Explain what you have done to make your community a better place tolive and give an example or one or more of specific projects that havebenefited from your involvement.")Submit: Transcript, essay, and three letters of recommendation.

9. D.A.R.E. Scholarship - Due Friday, March 1, 2013 Three $1,000 scholarships will be awarded in 2013Must be graduating senior and living in the boundaries of MolineSchool District No. 40Applicant must be a former student of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education(D.A.R.E.) ProgramMinimum 3.0 grade pointBased on academic merit, good citizenship, attendance, active involvement inschool and community, and essay (300 words or less) "About good choicesyou have made in your life. Choose an activity you have been involved in anddescribe how it has impacted your life."Submit: Transcript, essay, and three letters of recommendation

All application are online on the Moline Foundation website. Please check theMoline Foundation website: www.molinefoundation.org or contact Linda Daily at (309)764-4193 if you have further questions.

The Moline Foundation, founded in 1953, is a community foundation whichprovides grants to health, human services, education, community development, thearts and other charitable organizations which benefit the citizens of Moline and thesurrounding area. The Moline Foundation receives and administers charitable gifts forall citizens in a seven county region including Rock Island, Henry, Mercer, Warren,Henderson and McDonough in Illinois and Scott County in Iowa.

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Monday began with a press conference with Rep. Bruce Braley at the Capitol where he rolled out his End Radon in Schools Act. This bill would require testing for radon in our schools and provide funding for mitigation.

Wednesday, 60 lawmakers and 18 volunteers attended our annual Legislative Breakfast at the Capitol.  They had some great discussions around our priorities of prevention, early detection and access to care. I want to thank everyone who helped make it a huge success!

But the good news doesn't stop there! One of our top priority bills, radon, was introduced in the Senate on Wednesday.  Next, it heads to the Senate State Government Committee. We need your help to make sure this important piece of legislation makes it to the Senate floor for debate, so be looking for a call to action soon.

If you are interested in attending any legislative forums or meetings in your area, please let us know.  We know that with your help, we can make huge strides in the fight against cancer in Iowa this session.