[Peace-discuss] Schools and Recruiters

[C. G. Estabrook]

[From a piece in the Honolulu Advertiser. On a related matter, some
universities are once again restricting or removing military formation,
the "Reserve Officers Training Corps" (ROTC).  They seem to be doing the
right deed for the wrong reason, rejecting ROTC for sexual discrimination
rather than for terrorism -- but it's an approach that might work in
public schools, subject to anti-discrimination rules.--CGE]

	Concerns raised over school privacy notice
	 * Privacy notice allows a choice
	By Treena Shapiro
	Advertiser Education Writer

Sybil Arum's eighth-grade granddaughter came home this week worried that
she was on the verge of being drafted by the military and sent off to war.

The reason for her fear was the Department of Education's annual privacy
notice, which says contact information for secondary students as young as
sixth-graders may be released to military recruiters unless the student,
parent or legal guardian requests otherwise.

Arum, who is the child's guardian, quickly determined that her
granddaughter was not being shipped off to Iraq, but became alarmed
anyway.

"I'm very upset with the age level that this policy encompasses," she
said.

DOE and U.S. Department of Defense officials, however, stress that the
military is only interested in students who are 17 and older and will not
be following up with students as young as sixth-graders.

"We don't just automatically release (the information to recruiters); it
would have to be on request," said DOE spokesman Greg Knudsen. "Recruiters
have told us that their interest is in juniors and seniors."

The privacy form, which also includes other disclosure information, goes
to all public school students across the state. Many schools have sent the
form out; at others, it is making its way to homes this week.

The form has been sent out for years as part of routine DOE information
gathering to be used in the release of such things as honors and awards.

But this is only the second year that it has included the notice of
potential disclosure to the military.

The release of information is part of the federal No Child Left Behind
Act, which requires all school systems receiving NCLB money to make the
contact information available to military recruiters or risk losing
federal money. The law also requires schools to give military recruiters
the same on-campus access they would give to prospective employers,
colleges and other post-secondary education institutions.

Because private schools are not affected by NCLB, Arum is concerned that
only public school students will be included in the recruiters' databases.

"Who are the military going to call on first?" she asked. "The kids that
are going to be in that file are public school kids, not the private
school kids."

Middle-school principals reached yesterday declined to comment on the
issue, but said no recruiters had ever requested information on their
students in sixth through eighth grade.

"In some way, this (form) might be needlessly alarming people," DOE's
Knudsen acknowledged. However, he noted that there have not been
widespread complaints.

Maj. Chuck Anthony, spokesman for the state Department of Defense,
confirmed that no one under the age of 17 should receive recruitment
materials.

In fact, he added that if younger students request information about
enlisting, the recruiters tell them to come back when they turn 17.

Further, even if students' information is released to recruiters, this
does not obligate them to do anything.

"If the mother is that concerned or the daughter is uninterested, all they
have to do is say no," Anthony said. "It's not like a sheriff comes with a
summons and says, 'You've been served.' "

Paul Vierling, the Hawai'i Parent Teacher Student Association's community
relations specialist, said concern over having information released to the
military is unfounded. "I don't see any problem with it," he said.

Countries that require military service have seen positive outcomes on
their society because the military teaches the importance of community
service, giving back and making contributions, Vierling said.

But parents who don't agree can just request that their children's
information be kept private. "If people don't want their information
shared, I think that's fine, as long as they have the choice," said
Vierling.

Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, the DOE is required
to send home a notice every year that includes several types of
disclosures, including that student contact information could be given to
military recruiters.

Knudsen said the notice sent home this year was similar to the one last
year, when the notice about release of information to military recruiters
was more prominent.

Arum said she regularly requests that her child's information be withheld,
but does not remember the military recruiter part from last year. She
suspects that other parents could miss it as well, unless they carefully
read the form.

"It can be very intimidating and confusing for someone who is not going to
read the whole thing," she said.

She said kids are confused because they think if they do not allow their
information to be disclosed, they won't be able to appear in the yearbook.

Lois Perrin, legal director at the American Civil Liberties Union, said
the issue came up last year when it turned out that information was
released to recruiters about students who specifically asked that it be
withheld.

She said the DOE has since rectified the problem and is adjusting the way
nondisclosure statements are handled.

By next year, in addition to the annual disclosure notice, a separate
notice will be mailed to secondary students and their parents or guardians
specifically on releasing information to military recruiters and how to
opt out.

School administrators will be asked for written verification that both
notices were distributed.

In addition, the nondisclosure requests from the previous year will be
retained until this school year's requests are processed.

Perrin, who is concerned about privacy issues for public school students,
said the ideal process would be to have student opt in if they want their
contact information released.

However, Knudsen said NCLB stipulates that the parents or students must
initiate the request to restrict disclosure.


Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro at honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8014.