STAFF EDIT: Violations fly under the radar

The No Child Left Behind Act may have been one of the most aggressive federal approaches to public education in United States history, but a provision that requires schools to hand the contact information of their juniors and seniors over to military personnel for recruitment purposes is out of line. Though the provision’s authors may have had genuinely positive intentions, it is a violation of students’ fundamental rights to privacy and, as a minor provision in a much larger education bill, was snuck into federal law under the radar.

Before the law took effect, military personnel were allowed into public schools to recruit but were not given all students’ contact information. Students can opt out of giving up contact information by signing a form, though schools not complying with the provision could risk losing some federal funds, according to the Associated Press. Ninety-five percent of the nation’s schools are currently in compliance with the law, including the Boston Public School District, according to the Associated Press. The act was signed into law in January.

Military recruitment may be down and military service may be able to help some students contribute positively to society after high school, the new law is not a fair way to better promote post-high school military options. School districts should simply not be giving out student information, whether to public or private organizations. Though this would simply be transferring information across government agencies, it is fundamentally wrong for public school districts to transfer personal student information anywhere else it is given to schools for the express purpose of contacting students about matters related to school, not for the use of other organizations.

The provision was quietly squeezed into the law, preventing students and their parents from adequately expressing their opinions about the proposal. And forcing students to sign a form to prevent their information from being given away is not satisfactory the law should have been written to force school districts to receive permission from families before giving student information away.

Creating a stronger link between education and the military is also unacceptable. Military organizations should not be given special preference over other government-related, post-high school activities, such as the Peace Corps. The military is important in protecting the country, but other organizations are also important in maintaining a strong society, both locally and around the world.

Though military recruitment may be important for protecting the country and may help people contribute to society after high school, the No Child Left Behind Act’s provision requiring schools to turn over the contact information of juniors and seniors is a disturbing violation of students’ privacy rights.