More and more parents and schools are protesting the clause in the No Child Left Behind Act which states that schools must hand over all student records to military recruiters upon request. This hidden clause also states that parents can opt out by submitting a letter to their students’ school.
If schools refuse to comply with this provision, they lose all federal funding.
And now there is a movement to target middle school students by the military. Additionally, the Pepsi Company’s “Channel One” student news program that is shown in hundreds of schools across the nation, has military ads on it every day. Schools who subscribe to this program require their students to watch it.
The military industrial complex is desperate for recruits. It is becoming increasingly apparent that they will go to any length to recruit, including targeting young impressionable minds and especially those in poor populations.
I am involved with an organization that will be showing the Veterans for Peace film “Arlington West” on June 18th. We will have opt-out forms for parents and students to use to submit to their schools. This is just one way that our community can protest this provision in what is supposed to be an education act.
Deanna Dee-Dee Taylor 