COUNTERING MILITARY RECRUITMENT
Articles: Military Recruiting: Student Privacy
NYCLU Report Attacks Military Recruitment Practices
North County Gazette
September 7, 2007
NEW YORK A report urging the New York City Department of Education totake immediate steps to protect students against aggressive military
recruitment practices in public high schools was released this week
by the New York Civil Liberties Union and Manhattan Borough President
Scott M. Stringer.
The report, We Want You(th)!, concludes that DOE is failing to
adequately safeguard students' rights to privacy, and to properly
manage military recruitment activities. Additionally, the report
finds that DOE can and must do more to address the concerns of
students, families and educators, including taking immediate steps to
implement a citywide policy governing military recruitment in the New
York City public school system.
In the spring of 2007, the Manhattan Borough President's Office
partnered with the NYCLU in conjunction with the Students or
Soldiers? Coalition to survey nearly 1,000 students from 45 select
schools where military recruitment activities were thought to be most
prevalent. The non-scientific survey sought to document students'
experiences with military recruitment in public high schools citywide.
Among the report's key findings are:
–More than one in five respondents (21%) at selected schools reported
the use of class time by military recruiters, a violation of DOE
guidelines. Amongst 12th graders at selected schools, an even greater
proportion approxima tely one in four students (27%) reported military
recruiter use of class time.
–In violation of DOE guidelines, two in five respondents (40%) at
selected schools did not receive a military recruitment opt-out form
at the beginning of the 2006-2007 academic year. Additionally, one in
three respondents (33%) was unsure if their school provided them with
an opt-out form at the start of the year.
–Nearly one in five respondents (18%) at selected schools did not
believe anyone in their school could properly advise them of the
risks and benefits of military enlistment. Additionally, almost one
in three surveyed students (32 percent) was unsure if such a person
was available in their school.
–Nearly half of respondents (45%) at selected schools reported that
they did not know to whom they should report military recruiter misconduct.
The federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 grants military
recruiters wide access to public high schools and to students'
personal information. The NCLB law also requires schools to allow
students and parents to withhold personal information from the
military. The survey suggests that the DOE is failing to adequately
inform students and parents of this right.
"Teachers, parents and students have complained of recruiters'
heavy-handed tactics, harassment and privacy violations actions
that are illegal, immoral and intolerable, " said Stringer. "Perhaps
the most disturbing issue raised by the students who responded to our
survey is that in some schools class time that is, time that is
supposed to be spent on instruction has instead been devoted to a
military recruiter's sales pitch. Our hope is that this report gives
voice to the experiences of students across our city and emboldens
DOE to take immediate steps to better protect student's rights."
The NYCLU and Borough President Stringer, drawing on the
recommendations of experts around the country, have proposed a set of
recommendations to better regulate military recruitment in New York
City's public high schools.
The report urges the DOE to take meaningful steps to address the problem by:
–Providing a clear written explanation of students' rights regarding
in-school recruitment.
–Distributing a multilingual form to students at the beginning of
every year that allows students to opt out of the military's database
of personal student information. Ensure that schools provide
additional, user-friendly ways such as including an opt-out checkbox
on mandatory emergency contact cards for students and their parents
to withhold personal information from the military.
–Requiring all campus recruiters to sign in and out with school
guidance offices when present on campus. Records, including recruiter
affiliation and location on campus, should be collected by DOE and
made publicly available.
–Training school leadership on the rules and regulations of recruiter
presence and activities in schools to monitor and enforce compliance.
Institute a meaningful and well-publicized grievance procedure.
–Enforcing strict limits on frequency of recruiter visits and on
recruitment activity in schools, including limiting locations within
schools and prohibiting recruiter use of instructional time.
–Training staff in each school to properly advise students about the
risks and rewards of military service and discuss alternative career options.
This archive consists of a topically organized selection of
articles culled by members of the Counter-Recruitment List Serve from printed
publications and web sites. The archive is not complete. We have chosen
material relevant to the work of