Take Action: Ongoing Actions: No Child Left Behind

Ongoing Actions - No Child Left Behind

Is your or your child's personal information being released to the recruiting office of the US military without your knowledge or consent in violation of your right to privacy? Under a newly activated provision of the No Child Left Behind Act, high schools across the nation must provide the Defense Department a directory with the name, address and telephone of all juniors and seniors or risk losing federal funding. Prior to this provision, many of the nation's high schools refused recruiters' requests for students' names or access to campus because they believed it was inappropriate. Now all high schools that rely on federal funding must aid the Pentagon in targeting minors to coerce them into entering the military. If parents or students request, however, the students name can be left off of the list provided to the Pentagon.

Take Action

1. Educate Yourself
2. Write a Letter
3. Organize in Your Community

1. Educate Yourself

> Fact Sheet
> No Child Left Alone By Military Recruiters, by Leah C Wells, December 6, 2002
> Military Recruiting Law Puts Burden on Parents, by Elaine Rivera, November 24, 2002
> Recruiting Law Under Question, by Jean Cowden Moore, December 23, 2002

2. Write a Letter

Letter writing can be an effective way to voice your opinion. Write to your school's administration and request that you or your child's information not be released for military recruitment purposes.

> Student Sample Letter
> Parent Sample Letter

3. Organize in Your Community

To take a leadership role in organizing around this issue you can:

• Collect signatures from students and parents at sports events or other school gatherings and submit them to your school's administration to help students opt out of the recruitment information process.

> Student Petition
> Parent Petition

• Educate students and parents about the recruitment provision.

> Fact Sheet

• Organize your student council or Associate Student Body groups to promote school-wide awareness.

• Attend your local school board meeting and get the issue on the agenda.

• Write to your local media to make them aware of your activities.

Take Action

Ongoing Actions - No Child Left Behind