- WASHINGTON -- Military recruiters
looking for a few good high school students will have an easier time finding
them, thanks to a federal law that requires schools to turn over students'
names, addresses and phone numbers.
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- Congress ordered the school-to-military cooperation as
part of No Child Left Behind, the education overhaul that President Bush
championed last year. The law, which went into effect in July, also requires
high school administrators to let military recruiters onto their campuses.
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- The terms apply to any school, public or private, that
gets federal money under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The
only schools exempted are private ones with religious objections to military
service, such as those run by Quakers.
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- The requirements are welcome news at the Pentagon, but
some school administrators aren't happy about them. Schools that refuse
to obey risk losing federal education money.
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- Parents can block the release of their children's names,
home addresses and phone numbers by instructing school officials to withhold
them.
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- Critics say the law is an invasion of students' privacy
and an affront to the principle of local control over schools. They also
question the need for the changes, because all of the armed services met
their recruitment goals last year.
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- Some educators are becoming aware of the new requirements
only now because the recruiting provisions were overlooked in the midst
of Bush's far-reaching education overhaul. The main thrust of the law is
to require standardized tests for all students and to set tough accountability
standards for schools.
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- School administrators were put on notice about the recruiting
terms in October. A joint letter from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
and Education Secretary Rod Paige urged schools to "work closely with
military recruiters." They reminded educators that the disclosure
requirement applies to juniors as well as graduating seniors.
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- Before the law went into effect, as many as 2,000 high
schools barred military recruiters, out of about 21,700 high schools nationwide,
according to Defense Department estimates. Most schools are reluctant to
share personal information about their students. Other federal laws severely
limit the release of students' data.
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- "We've been very zealous about student privacy,
and with good reason: The parents want that," said Bruce Hunter, director
of public policy at the American Association of School Administrators.
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- The Defense Department is eager to take advantage of
the new law. Some school districts were asked for their directory lists
the day after the changes went into effect.
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- The Defense Department predicts that easier access to
high school students will significantly reduce recruitment costs, which
have nearly doubled in the last decade, to $11,600, from $6,500 per new
enlistee.
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- Many schools already were cooperating with military recruiters.
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- "We've been handing over that information anyway,
for at least eight years -- probably longer than that," said Paul
Jackson, a spokesman for the Philadelphia school system.
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- Although male students are required to register with
the Selective Service at age 18, Defense Department officials say they
have no plans to reinstate a military draft. The armed services need about
210,000 recruits a year to maintain the all-volunteer military, besides
150,000 recruits annually for National Guard and reserve units.
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- Finding recruits has become more difficult in recent
years. The boom economy of the 1990s, an increase in college enrollments
and even the shrinking military made it harder to find volunteers.
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- "Many of those best able to advise youth about post-high
school options -- teachers, counselors, coaches, parents -- have little
firsthand experience with today's military," says a Defense Department
explanation of the new law. "Those adult influences may underestimate
the military's value as a powerful foundation for success in any endeavor."
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- To reach Ron Hutcheson, send e-mail to <mailto:rhutcheson@krwashington.com>rhutcheson@krwashington.com
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- © 2001 kansascitystar and wire service sources.
All Rights Reserved.
- http://www.kansascity.com
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