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Leave
My Child Alone!
WAND and WiLL are working with Working Assets, Mainstreet
Moms Operation Blue and ACORN to raise awareness about a provision
hidden in the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).
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Buried
deep within the No Child Left Behind Act is a provision that requires
public high schools to hand over private student information to military
recruiters. The purpose of this invasion of family privacy is to allow
minor students to be recruited at home by telephone calls, mail and
personal visits. |
If
a school district does not comply, it risks losing vital federal education
funds.
The only way to keep your children's contact information from military
recruiters is to submit an opt-out letter in writing to your school districts
superintendent.
This provision -- known as section 9528 -- was inserted with almost no
debate by
Rep. David Vitter of Louisiana, who learned from the Pentagon that many
public schools had strict privacy policies protecting student information
from being released to any outside parties, thus preventing aggressive
military recruiting.
The Leave My Child Alone! campaign is designed to raise public
awareness about section 9528 of NCLB and encourage school districts to
adopt "opt out" best practices.
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House
parties on June 1
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On
June 1, 2005 local concerned citizens will host house parties
to discuss lobbying local school board members. To find a party
near you or to host a party yourself go to: www.partylaunch.com
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In
the fall, we will take part in a major national push for
a Back-To-School "Opt Out" movement. For more information,
go to: LeaveMyChildAlone.org
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The campaign,
comprised of online and offline actions in the spring and fall,
will:
- Educate parents about the military
recruiting provision of No Child Left Behind, and make it easy
for parents who want to protect their children’s privacy to opt-out
from their schools list.
- Provide tools to parent organizations to
demand that their school administrators and school boards fully
reveal their privacy policy and adopt methods which make it much
easier for parents to protect their children.
- Provide support for the Student Privacy Protection
Act of 2005, which reverses the current legislation and
requires schools to first obtain parental permission before releasing
private student information to military recruiters.
- Organize community events to encourage
local organizing around schools.
At the heart
of this nonpartisan campaign is an online tool (LeaveMyChildAlone.org)
that parents and community organizers can use. |
Want
more information?
Feel free to call Erin Gould, WiLL Washington Associate:
(202) 544-5055, ext. 192 or send an email to will@wand.org.
Or contact WiLL President Nan Grogan Orrock: willpres@wand.org.
| Opting
for 'Opt-In'
By
J. Douglas Allen-Taylor, AlterNet. Posted May 16, 2005.
Full article, click
here.
excerpt:
Some school districts are challenging the federal guidelines for
No Child Left Behind's military recruitment provision, facing withdrawal
of funding over privacy infringement.
In
the heart of California's traditionally anti-war Bay Area, a stubborn
resistance is growing to access to high school students by military
recruiters.
The
rebellion comes at a time when the U.S. military is simultaneously
under pressure to lift sagging enlistment numbers while coming under
increasing criticism over its recruitment tactics. U.S. Army officials
recently announced a one-day moratorium on recruitment, scheduled
for May 20, in order to give recruiters a chance to "focus
on how they can do a very tough mission without violating good order
and discipline." |
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