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| Ty McDonald receiving a phone call from the military. |
No Child Left Behind Act Permits Military Recruiter Access to Student Files
By Sabrina Zeiglar| 09/17/07 | Local News
recent concern has surfaced among many juniors and seniors regarding the phone calls they’ve been receiving from military recruiters. What most of them want to know is, “How did they get my information?” and “What gives them the right to call me?” The answer to these questions lies within the No Child Left Behind Act issued in 2001, which is actually a reauthorized version of the state’s Elementary Secondary Education Act.
The renewed set of bills, now under authorization of the federal government, was passed as a means of ensuring the accountability of all secondary schools by mandating them to meet specific standards that allow all students to receive a quality education, regardless of having low incomes or low aptitudes. This concern is addressed in Title 1, which supports school districts with supplementary funds of up to $6 million for the improvement of learning for students who face these challenges.
By grant of this federal law, each military branch is permitted to receive the directory information of every junior and senior at every public high school upon request. This process is intended to inform the students of the benefits they could obtain through the military as well as sustain the success of our volunteer-staffed armed forces.
Sergeant Kyle Davis, station commander for the Porterville Army recruiting station, explained that they’re basically trying, “to let [students] know that the Army is not a ‘plan z.” It’s common for people to assume that enlisting suggests a person has nothing else going for them. “We’re fighting for their ability to go to college. We don’t want the lower 10 percent,” he said.
Many students and their parents feel hassled by this process and have expressed their disapproval.
“I think it’s an invasion of privacy,” said senior, Krystal Wayne.
This policy is in absolute compliance with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, which protects the privacy of student education records. The information is to be accessed solely for recruiting purposes and is to remain entirely confidential between the district office and recruiting stations.
After students have made clear that they are not interested, the recruiting stations shred their information. “They may feel like they’re getting hammered,” Davis said. He understood that the reason many people are becoming so irritated is that they’ve been receiving several calls a day. The reason for this is that each branch has been given the same information with no inner contact regarding those who already said they weren’t interested.
In fact, there is an option for parents to fill out a request to remove the student’s name and contact information from military recruiting files slip, which is accessible through the district office, and has an annual validation.
Recruiters know that the students who feel strongly that they wouldn’t consider the military under any circumstance aren’t necessary to contact.
However, “People will say, ‘no’ before knowing what the military has to offer. It’s important to let them know.” said Petty Officer Dixon of the Porterville Navy recruiting station. Joining is “more of an appeal to people who want those opportunities” and most likely need them. This fact often leads to the misconception that recruiters target the lower class.
This policy, in accordance with the No Child Left Behind Act was intended to guarantee that all students have a secure financial plan for college.
On the other hand, Sergeant Davis admitted that, “Getting into the Army [or any branch] is not as easy as people think.” New recruits must have passed the ASVAB test, as well as be physically and morally qualified.
The necessary aptitude qualifications of students are being addressed by the No Child Left Behind Act as well, with regulations of the schools and school districts’ accountability. Assistant Superintendent for the Porterville Unified School District, Dr. Valene Staley is required to release student directory information to recruiting stations under the policy that the schools are receiving federal funding. The process used to be less dependable, back when the schools were instructed to send the information to the Army offices, where it was then, distributed to the recruiting stations for each branch.
“We do it centrally now. I think it’s more efficient.” said Staley. Through media communication, she is able to send the information from a compact disk via email, which guarantees confidentiality even more so than the old mailing process.
As for the students who feel hassled, “My question is ‘What’s the big thing?’ The recruiter calls-you say you’re not interested,” said Staley.
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