Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.) introduced legislation March 6 that would amend the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) to direct schools to release student contact information to military recruiters only if a written request is submitted by the student’s parents, effectively turning the current “opt-out” provision into an “opt-in” provision. It’s called the Student Privacy Protection Act of 2007.
NCLB currently requires secondary schools to release students’ names, addresses and phone numbers to the military unless parents opt-out in writing. Many schools have not made parents aware of the opt-out provision, according to a statement from Honda’s office.
The current opt-out requirement is a contentious issue in many communities and has spawned the formation of the “Leave My Child Alone!” campaign (www.leavemychildalone.org), a “family privacy project of Working Assets, Mainstreet Moms and ACORN,” according to the organization’s web site.
The campaign educates parents and provides support for Honda’s amendment.
Reg Weaver, president of the National Education Association, joined Honda at a press conference introducing the amendment. “No high school student’s record should be released for recruiting purposes against the wishes of the student and his or her family,” Weaver said.
The legislation was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, chaired by Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), a co-sponsor of the amendment.
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