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"Airtight Opt-Out Plus" Resolution (this page)
Press Release for new Opt-Out Resolution (this page)
Federal Challenge to SC Schools, links & documents (link)
Organizing history and document for Opt-In (link)


"AIRTIGHT OPT-OUT PLUS" TRUTH & PRIVACY RESOLUTION FOR THE SANTA CRUZ CITY HIGH SCHOOLS - 10/14/03

WHEREAS: High school students are vulnerable to the U.S. Military’s $2.4 billion (FY 2002) recruiting efforts and the military’s new open door access to student names, addresses and telephone listings which is mandated by Section 9528 of the “No Child Left Behind Act” (NCLB) of 2001 under threat of loss of federal funding for schools; and,

WHEREAS: On March 12, 2003 the Youth Alliance of Santa Cruz High School proposed to the Santa Cruz High School District a resolution that creates an “opt-in” policy for release of directory information to military recruiters which stipulates that contact information will only be released to military recruiters with prior written parental consent; and,

WHEREAS: On March 26, 2003 the Santa Cruz High School District adopted the Youth Alliance proposal as Resolution #33-02-03. The “opt-in” procedure was successfully administered in school year 2002-03; and,

WHEREAS: After receiving a joint letter from the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Defense, Jack O’Connell, State Superintendent of Education, notified the Santa Cruz High School District, in a letter dated August 21, 2003, that the “opt-in” policy “may” not conform to the NCLB Act and that federal funding “may” be withheld from the district; and,

WHEREAS: The alliance that initiated the “opt-in” resolution remains concerned about the issue of student vulnerability to military recruiters, recruiter aggressiveness and misleading information. Additional concerns now include: Department of Defense interference with public education and the extortion implied by the threat of withdrawal of funds for activities which have nothing to do with public education; and,

WHEREAS: To continue its mission of educating local youth in the best possible manner, the Santa Cruz High School District cannot financially afford a loss of federal funds, nor can it morally afford to ignore the concerns of the community for student and family privacy; and,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: That the Santa Cruz High School District directs the Superintendent and staff to develop, for the 2003-2004 school year, a bi-lingual (Spanish-English) “opt-out” letter form to send to high school junior and senior students and to their parents; and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That the Santa Cruz High School District directs the Superintendent and staff, for the 2004-2005 school year and subsequent years, to revise the student Emergency Card to prominently display the form which enables parents and students to “opt-out” of directory information releases to military recruiters; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That the “opt-out” form and procedure not be co-joined with similar consent forms or decisions about receiving scholarship, employment, or college information, but be separately processed and identified on the “opt-out” form as pertaining solely to non-release of student directory information to military recruiters; and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That at any time a student or parent may change their “opt-out” card by requesting, completing and submitting a new form; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That the Santa Cruz High School District directs that the Superintendent and staff to include on all formal “opt-out” notification documents contact information (name, phone, address, web site) for local and national organizations providing information about alternatives to military enlistment, including but not limited to the Resource Center for Nonviolence (RCNV), the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), and the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors (CCCO); and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That the Santa Cruz High School District develop a packet of community resources for every secondary school site which includes contact information for the previously identified organizations, and including information for parents and student on their rights to privacy from military recruiters and information about the practices of military recruiters and student alternatives to military service.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That to assure cost reimbursement for procedures mandated by the NCLB Act, and as practiced by the Los Angeles Unified School District, all institutional and government recruiters shall be required to pay reasonable staff and services costs for producing student directory information; and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That to assure protection for student and their families, entities receiving student directory information will sign an affidavit identifying the specific use of the information and certifying that use of the information conforms with all city, state and federal laws regarding privacy and regarding discrimination against legally identified minority groups; and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: To establish a standard procedure for campus access, all institutional recruiters requesting campus access shall submit a request in writing on official letterhead at least 3 week in advance and that notice of their presence will be available to the public at least 2 weeks in advance on either a school web site or an administrative calendar which may be accessed by a phone call to the school; and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That the Santa Cruz City Schools Board of Education send written correspondence to Congressman George Miller, ranking minority member of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce and co-author of the NCLB Act, requesting that he submit amendments to the NCLB Act requiring: that the “opt-in” procedure to become a legal option for public school administration for the release of directory information to military recruiters, that schools be reimbursed for production costs of the student directory information lists mandated by the NCLB Act, and that institutional and government recruiters receiving the student directory information list sign an affidavit assuring that all uses of the list conform to local, state and federal laws pertaining to privacy and discrimination; and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That the Santa Cruz City Schools Board of Education send written correspondence to the California School Board Association requesting support for the proposal sent to Congressman George Miller. to top

“Airtight Opt-Out Plus”
Federal Threat of School Funds Loss
Sparks New Military Recruiter Control Policy

Release: Immediate
Information: Bob Fitch, 831/423-1626 x103
Research & Document Links: http://www.rcnv.org/rcnv/archives/2003/optin_fed_challenge.htm

“ Protection of student and family privacy and control of open ended military recruiter access to students,” says Cece Pinheiro, Santa Cruz City School Board member, “remains the core of the new ‘Airtight Opt-Out Plus’ resolution” that she and Student Board Representative Erin-Kate Escobar will introduce at the October 22nd School Board meeting.

An “opt-in” procedure, requiring parental consent before high schools release student contact information to military recruiters, was unanimously adopted by the School Board in March 2003. However over $3 million in Federal school funding for the district “may” be threatened because the U.S. Dept. of Defense and U.S. Dept. of Education have determined that “opt-in” does not comply with the NCLB Act. The district was notified of this threat in August by Jack O’Connell, State Superintendent of Education.

“Of course the military doesn’t want ‘opt-in’,” says Student Board Representative Escobar. “‘Opt-in’ assumes parental consent and family privacy; no parent consent, no student information. Recruiters want “opt-out” because it presumes they get student contact information unless the parent objects in writing, a process easily ignored, or corrupted by inadequate notice, cultural or language barriers.”

“Our Airtight Opt-Out Plus resolution requires bilingual notification, and in future years, putting the “opt-out” form on the student Emergency Card that each student completes at the beginning of the school year.” The new resolution, says Ms. Escobar, “ assures that students and parents are completely informed about their legal right to deny military recruiter personal information about their teenage children.”

The new resolution also requires that military recruiters reimburse the Santa Cruz schools system for the cost of producing a student directory list and requires certification of the intended use of the list. These procedures are successfully used by the Los Angeles Unified School District. The resolution also establishes standard procedures to govern campus access by recruiters.

The school board is also directed to request that Congressman George Miller, ranking minority member of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce, and co-author of the NCLB Act, submit amendments to NCLB Act requiring that: the “opt-in” procedure be an option for public school administration for the release of directory information to military recruiters and that schools shall be reimbursed for production cost of student directory.

Interested individuals and organization are urged to attend the October 22nd, 6pm meeting of the School Board at 2931 Mission in Santa Cruz. For more information about the Airtight Opt-Out Plus campaign support phone Josh Sonnenfeld, 831/295-2139.
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