Y&M Magazine - UPDATE: New Law Aids Military Recruiters

UPDATE:
New Federal Law Aids Military Recruiters

This article is an update to Proposed Federal Law Would Force High Schools to Assist Military Recruiters, from the June 2000 issue of Y&M Magazine. See that story for a comprehensive background on recruiter access issues.

On October 31, 2000, President Clinton signed into law the Defense Authorization Act for FY 2001. The new law, Public Law 106-398, contains a provision that would aid military recruiters in their quest to gain increased access to the nation's secondary schools.

The law contains several major provisions:

Local school districts would be required to grant recruiters access to students and "directory information" if they provide such access to post-secondary institutions or prospective employers.
Local districts may deny access only if a majority of their governing boards (school board or control board for districts that have been taken over by governmental entities) votes to do so.
School districts that deny recruiters the requested forms of access would then be subjected to a political process where senior recruiting officials would take measures to pressure the district into complying. They include: dispatching senior recruiting officials to meet with district officials; requesting the assistance of the governor; and reporting the noncompliance to federal legislators (members of Congress representing that district and to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees).

These provisions apply to both public and private schools. The requirements go into effect on July 1, 2002.

What the law means

The law does not require schools to grant recruiters access. School districts are still free to make up their own policies, subject to the restrictions of other state laws.
The law contains no sanctions or punishments. Schools deemed non-complying would face no loss of federal funds. (The initial version of the bill would have cut off federal funding to such schools.)
The law gives the Pentagon a new political tool to coerce schools into granting the military privileged, not equal, access to students. The military has greater access to schools than almost any other outside institution. Few districts have policies that regulate recruitment behavior to any significant degree. Those local or school policies that do exist generally do not bar only the military. In fact, most school policies regarding the distribution or sale of directory lists are favorable to the military.

The new law is intended to pressure districts into removing decision-making authority about such matters from individual schools and district administrators by making military access the subject of a political negotiation between the school board, the Pentagon, and pro-military elected officials.

Whether the Pentagon will be successful depends in part on how committed schools are to protecting the rights of students. It is critical that concerned members of school communities raise their voices highlighting the improper behavior and high-pressure tactics already being employed by recruiters in their efforts to rope in more young people.

Learn more...
Portland Schools' Ban on Military Recruiting