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MILITARY RECRUITINGFederal public law 107-110, section 9528 of the ESEA, "No Child Left Behind Act" requires school districts to release student names, addresses, and phone numbers (grades 9 through 12) to military recruiters upon their request. Students are then called at home by recruiters, and a home visit is set up in order to pressure the student to join the military. And here we thought "No Child Left Behind" had something to do with improving education levels and rates in this country, which, by the way, ranks 49th in the world in literacy while posing as number one in everything! The law also requires the school district to notify parents of their right to opt out from this intrusive recruitment by requesting that the district not release information to military recruiters. What's wrong with this picture? Isn't this backwards? School records are confidential; if anyone else wanted this information, parents would have to act to give permission. In the case of military recruiting, parents must act to NOT give permission. (continued, click "read more" below...) School districts are not informing parents that the information is being given out, or that they have the right to opt out. According to one of my forum correspondents, only those who are self-informed and go to the school in person are given a form, and it's long and complicated. The military is being sneaky because recruitment is down. Students are not dumb; they are aware of the casualty statistics. They have talked to veterans who tell them about the poor training and equipment they receive to do their "job," and about injuries that are not adequately treated because the military does not define them as having occurred "in combat," and about injured soldiers returning to a country that is closing VA hospitals at an alarming rate. The military is even releasing video games that show war as easy and fun; all you have to do is hit the reset button to get another life or your limbs back. The military is even lying. They are promising GI Bill benefits of $70,000 to finance a college education, which may be true if the recruit serves to retirement and is promoted in a timely fashion, but in reality the typical GI gets only a couple of thousand for the typical three- to four-year tour of duty. YOU CAN HELP by spreading the word in your community about these military activities and taking action by going to www.militaryfreezone.org for a simple but binding form that you can send to your school district to let you opt out of this unsolicited recruitment. You can also contact JustinSane@WorkingForChange.com who is working with Congressman McDermott (WA), Congressman Stark (CA), and Congresswoman Woolsey (CA) to rectify this situation. Besides straightening out the law itself, I hope the military is relegated to its proper place at the job fair like any other potential employer. Or not! Don't they already have enough of an advertising budget? 
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PUBLICATION!
I am happy to announce that the main newspaper in Charleston, SC, the Post and Courier, is publishing this article, which I originally wrote as a letter to the editor at the suggestion of the website cited in the article. I heard from the newspaper editor himself today, and I have his name and email address.
He told me a story about his son's activity in a group in CA that follows the recruiters around and gives young people the "other side of the story." I was so flustered that I forgot to promote the Department of Peace when he called, but I will certainly get back in touch with him and try to get him interested in the propeace agenda. He could be a very powerful contact in this very red state!
I am also writing to give courage to those of you who are still hesitant to take assertive action in your own networking attempts. The propeace agenda is personally important to me because, among other, more long-standing reasons, I am one of the "walking wounded;" I am in recovery from PTSD following two physical assaults within eight months in 2000-2001. If I can be effective, so can you!
"Blue in a Red State"
good to know
This is good to know. Thanks for bringing it to everyone's attention. This is another example of how militarism and warfare are higher priority than peace in our culture. The propeace cultural shift would presume that the Peace Corps should have the same access to students' records as the military.
However, I agree that these records are private and confidential. It is not our government's right to obtain such information without permission nor is it in its charter to "market" itself by placing unsolicited telephone calls to citizens' private homes.