Guide: the No Child Left Behind Act’s
Military Recruitment Provision & Opt-Out Practice
By: Josh Sonnenfeld, Counter Recruitment Organizer & former RCNV Intern: 831/295-2139, josh_lizard@yahoo.com

For a complete history of the Opt-In & Opt-Out campaigns click here
For a opt-out form for your child and school click here
For Watsonvill, CA High School Opt-Out choice on Mandatory Annual Emergency Form click here
Solomon Amendment: College version of No Child recruiter priviledge @ Supreme Court click here & here
Working Assets & Mainstreet Moms & ACORN LEAVE MY CHILD ALONE blog & campaign site
ACLU Wins Opt out Notification Requirement Case in Texas 1/28/05

Table of Contents - scroll down or click for direct access
I Text of NCLB
II How districts are dealing with the NCLB mandate
III Opt-in Iffy
IV Big picture -- Telling the truth
V Approaches to getting started
VI Liberal v. conservative districts
VII Importance of students
VIII Best 100% legal policy
IX Examples of good existent policies
X Contacts for good policies
XI Connect further

For a detailed account of the 2004 Santa Cruz Opt-In & -Out campaigns click here

I. Text of NCLB

This text is from section 9528 on pages 559 and 560 of the 670-page reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), commonly known as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001: SEC. 9528. ARMED FORCES RECRUITER ACCESS TO STUDENTS AND STUDENT RECRUITING INFORMATION.

(a) POLICY-

(1) ACCESS TO STUDENT RECRUITING INFORMATION- Notwithstanding section 444(a)(5)(B) of the General Education Provisions Act and except as provided in paragraph (2), each local educational agency receiving assistance under this Act shall provide, on a request made by military recruiters or an institution of higher education, access to secondary school students names, addresses, and telephone listings.

(2) CONSENT- A secondary school student or the parent of the student may request that the student's name, address, and telephone listing described in paragraph (1) not be released without prior written parental consent, and the local educational agency or private school shall notify parents of the option to make a request and shall comply with any request.

(3) SAME ACCESS TO STUDENTS- Each local educational agency receiving assistance under this Act shall provide military recruiters the same access to secondary school students as is provided generally to post secondary educational institutions or to prospective employers of those students.

(b) NOTIFICATION- The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall, not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, notify principals, school administrators, and other educators about the requirements of this section.

(c) EXCEPTION- The requirements of this section do not apply to a private secondary school that maintains a religious objection to service in the Armed Forces if the objection is verifiable through the corporate or other organizational documents or materials of that school.

(d) SPECIAL RULE- A local educational agency prohibited by Connecticut State law (either explicitly by statute or through statutory interpretation by the State Supreme Court or State Attorney General) from providing military recruiters with information or access as required by this section shall have until May 31, 2002, to comply with that requirement. to top

~ Click here to see how your representative voted on this special amendment

II. How districts are dealing with the law

a. Ignoring the requirement to notify parents/students of their right to opt-out
b. Slipping the opt-out in student handbooks or newsletters, where very few will see it
c. Sending letters home to parents
d. Putting the opt-out selection on the mandatory student Emergency Cards
e. Requiring a response from students (opt-in/opt-out)
f. Opt-in (student contact information not released without parental consent) to top

III. Opt-in Iffy
In the summer of 2003, the Federal Government sent out a letter to every State Secretary of Education noting their opposition to opt-in and their belief that opt-in was not legal. That led to a crackdown on districts with opt-in in California, however opt-in still exists in a few places on the East Coast, such as the Fairport Central School District in New York. The New York Civil Liberties Union has stated that they will legally protect Fairport if they were ever challenged.. Opt-in is something that can and should be considered, however it may risk federal funding in some areas of the country. to top

~ For information on Fairport Central School District's opt-in policy, contact Superintendent Bill Cala: william_cala@fairport.monroe.edu
~ For more information on the federal crackdown, click here to visit the organizing narrative of the fall 2003 Santa Cruz opt-out campaign

IV. Big Picture: The Truth

While helping to craft a strong district policy protecting students' privacy is important, the primary goal should be telling students about what it really means to join the military – giving them the truth. We can’t protect students from all forms of military marketing and recruitment - it’s everywhere in our society. Our job is to show them the real facts – that most people don’t get the money for college, that most of the job training isn’t useful, and that traveling around the world will only get them in places like Iraq and Afghanistan and any number of tightly secured, isolated and boring military bases. to top

V. Approaches to getting started

a. Inform yourself! Learn about Selective Service registration and the draft, how recruitment works (and who they target), alternatives to enlistment, what life in the military is really like, and about counter-recruitment work nation-wide,
b. Build a presence in the schools (via tabling, class presentations, student organizations, etc.), and in the community (music shows, popular hangouts, etc.) offering the truth and alternatives to military service – give them the information needed so the military isn’t even on their minds,
c. Start assisting students in passing out opt-out forms, while giving them information about recruiter harassment and lies,
d. Assist students in going to the school board to request a stronger policy protecting the privacy of students.
e. Remember, the most credible counter recruitment worker is a peer – for students, another student; for parents, another parent; for administrators, a registered voter. to top

VI. Liberal v. Conservative districts

a. Liberal – Can get away with (and gain support from) anti-war statements and opposition to U.S. foreign policy.
b. Conservative – Most effective issues: student & family privacy, government intrusion on the lives of students, and truth about military service. An anti-military or anti-Bush approach may be very harmful to the campaign.
c. In all districts it is appropriate and legal to inform youth about the law, legal consequences, and current practices that may directly affect 8 years of their life and may impact the rest of their lives. to top

VII. Importance of students

Students have the right to opt-out themselves, according to the text of the No Child Left Behind Act. Student led campaigns focused on getting students to opt-out in schools have shown drastically higher rates of opt-outs than when students could not opt themselves out (the numbers of student opt-outs from Santa Cruz's fall 2003 campaign were 3x as many as parent opt-outs). Reasons for this include:

a. Students have the ability to flyer on their campuses, while adults need to get permission,
b. Students have the ability to communicate well with other students,
c. Keeping the opt-outs on campus prevents opt-out forms from being lost in the process of going home. to top

~ click here to download the student petition-style opt-out form used in Santa Cruz
~ click here to download the full-page student opt-out flyer used (revision of a flyer created by Peace Fresno)

VIII. Best 100% legal policy

a. Prominently display the opt-out on the required Student Emergency Cards (as done by Santa Cruz City High School District, CA),
b. Allow students to opt-out themselves (as done by San Francisco Unified School District and Santa Cruz),
c. Limit all institutional (includes military) recruiter access to a few times a year (limited to 3 days a year by the Madison Metropolitan School District, WI),
d. Keep military recruiter opt-out of issue separate from other institutional visit to campus,
e. Make military recruiter visit information public (Santa Cruz),
f. Allow students and parents to opt-out at any time (Santa Cruz),
g. Have one opt-out cover the rest of a student’s time at the high school,
h. Provide contacts for alternatives to military service on the opt-out forms,
i. Charge all institutional recruiters for access to student directory information to make up for administrative costs (as done by the Los Angeles Unified School District),
j. Make all institutional recruiters sign an affidavit declaring compliance with local, state, and national discrimination laws (LAUSD)

IX. Examples of good existent policies that can’t be threatened

a. San Francisco Unified School District, CA
i. Student right to opt-out, opt-out on Student Emergency Card
b. Santa Cruz City High School District, CA
i. Student right to opt-out, opt-out on Student Emergency Card, recruiter visit information released to public
c. Los Angeles Unified School District, CA
i. Recruiters sign an affidavit to conform to discrimination laws, recruiters charged ($0.03 a student) for access to student information
d. Madison Metropolitan School District, WI
i. Recruiters limited to three visits a school year to top

X. Contacts for good policies

a. San Francisco Unified School District – Board Vice President Eric Mar - ericmar@att.net - 415-730-4188, Board Member Mark Sanchez - mark_sanchez@earthlink.net
b. Santa Cruz City High School District – Organizers Bob Fitch – bob@rcnv.org - 831-460-0112, and Josh Sonnenfeld – josh_lizard@yahoo.com - 831-295-2139
c. Los Angeles Unified School District – Organizer Arlene Inouye - aginouye@aol.com - 626-799-9118
d. Madison Metropolitan School District – Organizer Michelle Nightoak - Nightoak@charter.net - 608-215-5605 to top

XI. Connect further
a. Resource Center for Nonviolence's Draft and Military page:
http://www.rcnv.org/rcnv/co.htm
b. Personal narrative of Santa Cruz's fall 2003 opt-out campaign:
http://www.rcnv.org/counterrecruit/optoutcampaign/
c. National counter-recruitment listserv:
http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/counter-recruitment
d. National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth:
http://www.youthandthemilitary.org
e. Nuclear Age Peace Foundation’s NCLB Page:
http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/action/ongoing-actions/no-child/
f. Rethinking Schools – background information:
http://www.rethinkingschools.org/war/readings/unre173.shtml
g. Links to many more excellent relevant groups from the Committee Opposed to Militarism and the Draft:
http://www.comdsd.org/links.htm

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