Local politicians are charging that a loophole in President Bush’s No Child Left Behind Program and a city Department of Education that is not moving to protect the privacy of students is creating an environment in public schools that is allowing military recruiters free access to pressure students into enlisting. Public anger at this situation brought out the politicians and a packed house to vent their anger at the military and the Department of Education last Tuesday, May 13, at El Faro-Harlem United in East Harlem.

Council Member Melissa Mark Viverito and Borough President Scott Stringer turned out to join the Ya-Ya Network and the New York Civil Liberties Union highlight the issues. They charge that federal law requires student contact information be provided to the federal government, they also charge that the City Department of Education is not doing enough to keep the recruiters and their sales pitch out of the schools and away from the students.

A joint study by Manhattan Borough President, Scott Stringer and the ACLU found that many students are not made aware of their rights to opt out of the sales pitch. The study concludes that the DOE guidelines that are supposed to protect students are routinely ignored.

Those guidelines specify that the recruiters are supposed to be restricted to one location in schools, they are not supposed to be allowed to take over instructional time, and the opt-out form for the provision of personal contact information is supposed to be provided to every student at the beginning of the school year.

According to Stringer, as recently as February of this year, the Army admitted (to a New York Times reporter) that it uses marketing and advertising agencies to specifically reach out to potential black and Hispanic recruits, comparing it to how McDonald's markets to the African-American community and other segments. But McDonald's, while it may not be health food, is not recruiting people to go overseas and get killed.

He said that last summer the Army announced a $20,000 "quick-ship" bonus for aspiring recruits. The bonus was for new recruits with no prior military service who would enlist for at least two years of active duty and agree to report to basic training within 30 days of enlistment. That program was supposed to end last September 30 but was extended and a deferred enlistment bonus was added for high school seniors who enlist.

That program pays $1,000 per month for high school seniors who enlist in the Future Soldier Training Program. There are additional ways for these students to earn more money, such as signing up to learn a specialty and the Army claims bonuses can add up to as much as $40,000.

Stringer claimed that his office found more than one in five students reported the use of class time by military recruiters, a violation of DOE guidelines. Among 12th graders it was about 1 in 4. He also charged that in violation of DOE guidelines, two in five respondents said they did not receive a military recruitment opt-out form at the beginning of the school year and an additional one in three respondents were unsure if they got it.

According to Adana Austin, a senior at Lafayette High School in Brooklyn, “I see military recruiters in classes a few times a month. I’ve never seen a college recruiter in the classroom.”

The combined organizations are seeking a commitment from the Department of Education to provide multilingual opt-out forms to all students, and clear explanations of their rights, hold principals accountable for making sure students are informed and enforce limits on the frequency and locations of recruiter visits

The message brought by all speakers was that the Department of Education has not responded to request that they implement measures to prevent aggressive recruitment practices.