No target left behind

This week I heard a report on NPR that public schools are required by law to furnish to military recruiters the information they have about their students 16 years old and up. What law could this be? Why, one that was included in “No Child Left Behind.” Indeed.

I went to the internet to learn more, and it’s true. According to FoxNews.com, there is a “little-known provision in the No Child Left Behind Act that compels public high schools to open their doors and pupil records to military recruiters.”

According to this report, “parents are just becoming aware of the policy, which gives recruiters the same access to high school campuses and students' phone numbers and addresses as colleges and businesses have. Districts that don't comply could risk annual federal funding.”

Allowing recruiters on campus is one thing, where students can choose to meet with them or attend a presentation or not. Providing those recruiters with names, addresses, phone numbers, social security numbers, grades and whatever else may be in the students’ records is another.