UNCLE SAM WANTS... Your Child's Name, Phone Number, and Address

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No Child Left Behind Act Overview

 

 

UNCLE SAM WANTS... Your Child's Name, Phone Number, and Address

The passage of recent "school reform" legislation intended to improve upon the nation's school systems also allows the military access to private student information.

The No Child Left Behind Act, signed into law by President George Bush on January 8, 2002, is touted by many as a federal bipartisan success story designed to impact the way children learn in school and how schools and states are held accountable to students, parents and educational communities. It is an elaborate reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 that, among other things, initially offered grants to low income school areas and established the federal lunch and milk programs. In spite of the new act’s overwhelming support by Washington legislators and policy makers, it is starting to come under fire for a well-hidden section entitled Sec. 9528. Armed Forces Recruiter Access to Students and Student Recruiting Information.

The section grants military recruiters access to students' private information. With this access, recruiters can make unsolicited calls and send direct-mail recruitment literature to a young person’s home. Parents, students, public education activists and those working to demilitarize the nation’s schools are beginning to see the legislated “open door” policy for military recruiters as a clear violation of the Privacy Act of 1974. They are studying the law and the options available to counter its influence