The Los Angeles Times brings us this article, but it has federal impact.  Under the No Child Left Behind Act, high schools must release the same type of data to military recruiters as they do to colleges and employers.  Many parents don’t know that they have the option to tell the high school not to release their child’s information to the military.  There are small groups forming in Los Angeles (and across the nation I’m sure) to notify parents of their rights regarding their children’s information.  Personally, I would think that a parent would have to opt-in rather than opt-out, and that absolutely no one at a high school should be releasing any type of data to anyone since these are minors at stake.  But in the meantime, for us parents, know that you have the right to stop the data flow on your children.

Once the recruiters get the student data, they actually call some of the kids at home to sell them on the military.  Even coming from a military family, I find this practice despicable.  Hopefully parents will learn what power they have over military access to their children.

Kudos to the Los Angeles Times for sharing this story.  It is ridiculous that parents have to a) know this practice exists and b) proactively stop it from happening.  We have so many other protections in place for children, and this needs to be added to the list.  The last thing a high school kid needs during a stressful wait on college applications is a friendly call from a military recruiter explaining how if he/she can get it for free.  Most kids know the military exists, and could be a viable option for them.  They do not need a recruiter to give them a sell job.