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Talking Points

For presentations to school boards and PTAs

on the recruitment provisions  of the No Child left Behind Act

 

Presented by Pax Christi Long Island

 

Purpose:

To bring to the attention of parents Section 9528 of the federal ”No Child Left Behind” Act (NCLB), which requires school districts to release to the Pentagon directory information on their students unless the parents take action to opt out of the list. Since this is potentially a life-and-death decision, school districts and parents should pay close attention to the opt-out form. Students should hear both sides of the story. If your school district and school board are not handling this issue correctly, not placing enough emphasis on the life-and-death nature of this decision, you can push for change.

Issues:

Students’ rights to privacy:

If the parents do not return the signed opt-out form to the school before the deadline, the school will send the student’s name, address and phone number to the Pentagon. Then recruiters will contact and pursue that student in school, call and visit homes. (In one case we know about, a mother came home and found a recruiter, in full uniform, meeting with her son. That story is probably not unique.)

 

Reasons why recruiters put pressure on students:

·        An endless war needs endless troops.

·        Troops are already spread thin, not only in Iraq, but around the world.

·        Reservists and National Guard troops who have experienced Iraq will be in no mood to re-enlist when they return. That will put further pressure on recruiters to find replacements for those who leave the service.

·        The Department of Defense relies very heavily on the Delayed Entry Program, which allows a student to sign up now, but delay actual entry into the military for months.  DOD gets more than 80 percent of its enlistees from among students. That means that gaining access to students is especially crucial to them. Last year “Secretary Rumsfeld and Education Secretary Rod Paige sent a letter to schools across the country saying access to high school students is the key to an all- volunteer military.”  Detroit News 11.12.03

Equal access:

  • The DOD says that recruiters should be allowed the same access to students as potential civilian employers or colleges get.
  • The military wants a “level playing field” with these civilian institutions. That is why Congress included Section 9528 in NCLB.
  • In truth, there can never be a level playing field, because employers and colleges are not recruiting our teenagers to kill or be killed, and because the military has far greater resources than these civilian institutions do.
  • We believe that parents and peacemakers have the right of equal access to schools that allow military recruiters to roam the halls. A federal appeals court in California has already established that principle on the West Coast.

 

Students’ rights to know what military service can mean:

The student should be fully aware of the terms of enlistment:

  • Enlistees must serve eight years, including time in the reserves.
  • Enlistees are subject to the military justice system. That includes nonjudicial punishment that a commanding officer can impose.
  • Enlistees must serve in combat and under hazardous situations. (The enlistment agreement won’t mention the specifics, but those conditions include exposure to depleted uranium weapons, vaccines that haven’t been thoroughly tested, and mystery illnesses, such as Gulf War Syndrome.)
  • Enlistees will find that the “money for college” pitch requires closer scrutiny. The American Friends Service Committee’s Youth and Militarism Program puts it this way: “To qualify for GI Bill benefits, recruits must first make a non-refundable contribution of $1200. Service members actually paid out more in these contributions than they received in return in benefits between 1985 and 1993.”*
  • Enlistees should read the enlistment agreement, which makes clear that the promises of recruiters are not exactly carved in granite.  Paragraph 9 (b) of the agreement says: “Laws and regulations that govern military personnel may change without notice. Such notices may effect my status, pay, allowances, benefits, and responsibilities as a member of the Armed Forces REGARDLESS of the provisions of this enlistment/reenlistment agreement.” (At least DoD is honest enough to use boldface for the pivotal word, REGARDLESS.)

 

Students’ rights to know their options:

Students have the right to be informed about conscientious objector status and that they should start to document their beliefs as soon as possible.

 

The school’s responsibilities:

  • Since schools take very seriously their responsibility to educate our children about the dangers of drugs, drunk driving, and AIDS, they must take equal care to explain with crystal clarity the hazards of being in the military.
  • Schools must uphold their dedication to the principles of conflict resolution. The military, which relies on force and the threat of force, undermines those principles.

Actions to fulfill these responsibilities:

  • Educate staff through memos and /or special meetings
  • Visit homerooms to explain the form
  • Place opt-out form on the district website
  • Include it in the student handbook
  • Translate it into Spanish or other language
  • Advertise the form and its availability in the school newspaper, billboard
  • Designate a phone number and an email address to request the form.
  • Offer a single opt-out choice that will transfer from year to year. 

* ALL enlistees are now automatically enrolled in the MGIB and must "disenroll" within the first three days of active duty to stop from having the nonrefundable deposit of $100 deducted from their paycheck each month. It used to be the opposite (they had to enroll within 3 days to qualify for the MGIB). R.Janknow   Project YANO   10-9-03