CommunityEditor
04-24-2009, 07:44 PM
WASHINGTON — Mary Adams doesn’t want her daughter hearing pitches from military recruiters as she completes her high school education.
“They promise them all kinds of benefits without telling them of the risks,” said Adams, a registered nurse whose daughter is a sophomore at a high school in Rochester, N.Y.
Thomas Gregory disagrees. Three years ago, he feared losing his son to the streets. But thanks to a meeting with a military recruiter, his son gained a career, an education and a brighter future.
“This is not a numbers game, as I’ve heard, and we’re not creating killers. What we are creating is citizens for tomorrow,” Gregory said during a February meeting of the Rochester Board of Education, which is considering whether to limit recruiters’ access to contact information for high school students.
A similar debate is expected in the coming months in Congress.
When approving the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, lawmakers inserted language requiring high schools that receive federal money to meet certain requirements regarding military recruiting.
Upon the military’s request, high schools must provide students’ names, addresses and telephone numbers. They also must give military recruiters the same access they provide to university and business recruiters during college and career fairs.
Congress will consider reauthorizing the education law later this year. Rep. Mike Honda, D-Calif., wants Congress to change how schools handle student contact information so military recruiters do not have automatic access to it. He said parents in his district are frustrated that recruiters are contacting their children at home.
Under Honda’s bill, parents would have to consent to releasing their children’s information to the military. Currently, parents have to ask that the information be withheld, and Honda said many parents are unaware they have that option.
“Parents have an obligation and right to control their children’s private information,” said Honda, who taught high school biology and was a principal before entering politics.
The National Education Association and the National PTA have supported Honda’s legislation in previous years. Honda said he feels the bill has good prospects this year because of Democratic gains in the House and Senate and the change to a Democratic administration.
Rep. Duncan D. Hunter, R-Calif., also senses improved prospects — which is why he’s introduced a competing bill to keep things the way they are.
“If you take federal funds, you owe it to the federal government to let students talk to a recruiter without having to go to a recruiting station,” said Hunter, who served with the Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan before winning office in November 2008.
Hunter said Honda’s bill would severely limit recruiting because many students will not get the permission forms to their parents.
“These are high school kids. They have more important things to do,” he said.
The military generally requires recruits to have a high school diploma or equivalent, and the average age of those who enlist is nearly 21. A student can enlist as early as 17 with parental consent.
Of the Army’s 80,000 enlistments for active duty during the 2008 fiscal year, about 14,000 — or nearly 18 percent — were high school students.
One enlistee, Matthew Tomlin, 17, said Army recruiters called him one night at his home in Arbuckle, Calif., a farming town about 50 miles north of Sacramento.
“They pay for your college, and with the economy the way it is there’s not that many jobs around, so I figured it was good,” Tomlin said.
The high school senior said he has no problem with recruiters having access to students’ contact information.
“It’s really your choice,” he said. “You’re almost 18, anyway.”
Molly Jordan, 17, from Grass Valley, Calif., said her parents initially worried about her interest in joining the Army. But she said high school seniors are mature enough to make this decision on their own.
“I think as long as the student’s fine with it, it’s OK,” said Jordan, who heads to Army training in Mississippi in July.
Officials say not all high school seniors who enlist will follow through. Some change their minds and go to college. Others don’t graduate or fail to meet physical requirements.
Douglas Smith, a public affairs officer with the Army, said granting the military access to student contact information and school campuses makes for a more efficient use of recruiters’ time.
“It’s the last time that the population is in one place,” said Smith, who is based at Fort Knox in Kentucky. “After high school, students graduate, they scatter.”
In a recent report, the Congressional Research Service estimated that about 95 percent of the nation’s school districts are in compliance with the military recruitment provision of No Child Left Behind. It has sparked a lively and ongoing debate in some districts, such as the one in Rochester.
In 2005, the Board of Education approved a policy that said contact information would not be shared unless parents approved. But only a small percentage of parents sent in approval letters, leading a Marine Corps official to complain to the superintendent that practice could cause Rochester to lose federal funding.
Curtis Gilroy, director of accession policy for the Department of Defense, testified earlier this year that he believes all 22,000 high schools are technically in compliance with the law. But some go to great lengths to limit access, he said.
“We think that the current law ... is very, very important to maintain,” Gilroy said.
Article: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/2009/04/ap_congress_school_recruiters_042409/
“They promise them all kinds of benefits without telling them of the risks,” said Adams, a registered nurse whose daughter is a sophomore at a high school in Rochester, N.Y.
Thomas Gregory disagrees. Three years ago, he feared losing his son to the streets. But thanks to a meeting with a military recruiter, his son gained a career, an education and a brighter future.
“This is not a numbers game, as I’ve heard, and we’re not creating killers. What we are creating is citizens for tomorrow,” Gregory said during a February meeting of the Rochester Board of Education, which is considering whether to limit recruiters’ access to contact information for high school students.
A similar debate is expected in the coming months in Congress.
When approving the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, lawmakers inserted language requiring high schools that receive federal money to meet certain requirements regarding military recruiting.
Upon the military’s request, high schools must provide students’ names, addresses and telephone numbers. They also must give military recruiters the same access they provide to university and business recruiters during college and career fairs.
Congress will consider reauthorizing the education law later this year. Rep. Mike Honda, D-Calif., wants Congress to change how schools handle student contact information so military recruiters do not have automatic access to it. He said parents in his district are frustrated that recruiters are contacting their children at home.
Under Honda’s bill, parents would have to consent to releasing their children’s information to the military. Currently, parents have to ask that the information be withheld, and Honda said many parents are unaware they have that option.
“Parents have an obligation and right to control their children’s private information,” said Honda, who taught high school biology and was a principal before entering politics.
The National Education Association and the National PTA have supported Honda’s legislation in previous years. Honda said he feels the bill has good prospects this year because of Democratic gains in the House and Senate and the change to a Democratic administration.
Rep. Duncan D. Hunter, R-Calif., also senses improved prospects — which is why he’s introduced a competing bill to keep things the way they are.
“If you take federal funds, you owe it to the federal government to let students talk to a recruiter without having to go to a recruiting station,” said Hunter, who served with the Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan before winning office in November 2008.
Hunter said Honda’s bill would severely limit recruiting because many students will not get the permission forms to their parents.
“These are high school kids. They have more important things to do,” he said.
The military generally requires recruits to have a high school diploma or equivalent, and the average age of those who enlist is nearly 21. A student can enlist as early as 17 with parental consent.
Of the Army’s 80,000 enlistments for active duty during the 2008 fiscal year, about 14,000 — or nearly 18 percent — were high school students.
One enlistee, Matthew Tomlin, 17, said Army recruiters called him one night at his home in Arbuckle, Calif., a farming town about 50 miles north of Sacramento.
“They pay for your college, and with the economy the way it is there’s not that many jobs around, so I figured it was good,” Tomlin said.
The high school senior said he has no problem with recruiters having access to students’ contact information.
“It’s really your choice,” he said. “You’re almost 18, anyway.”
Molly Jordan, 17, from Grass Valley, Calif., said her parents initially worried about her interest in joining the Army. But she said high school seniors are mature enough to make this decision on their own.
“I think as long as the student’s fine with it, it’s OK,” said Jordan, who heads to Army training in Mississippi in July.
Officials say not all high school seniors who enlist will follow through. Some change their minds and go to college. Others don’t graduate or fail to meet physical requirements.
Douglas Smith, a public affairs officer with the Army, said granting the military access to student contact information and school campuses makes for a more efficient use of recruiters’ time.
“It’s the last time that the population is in one place,” said Smith, who is based at Fort Knox in Kentucky. “After high school, students graduate, they scatter.”
In a recent report, the Congressional Research Service estimated that about 95 percent of the nation’s school districts are in compliance with the military recruitment provision of No Child Left Behind. It has sparked a lively and ongoing debate in some districts, such as the one in Rochester.
In 2005, the Board of Education approved a policy that said contact information would not be shared unless parents approved. But only a small percentage of parents sent in approval letters, leading a Marine Corps official to complain to the superintendent that practice could cause Rochester to lose federal funding.
Curtis Gilroy, director of accession policy for the Department of Defense, testified earlier this year that he believes all 22,000 high schools are technically in compliance with the law. But some go to great lengths to limit access, he said.
“We think that the current law ... is very, very important to maintain,” Gilroy said.
Article: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/2009/04/ap_congress_school_recruiters_042409/