Military Recruiting
After graduation from high school, students are faced with several options. Joining a branch of the armed forces is one of the options students have. Another is to go to a two-year or four-year college or university. Other students enroll in vocational or apprentice programs or go directly to work.
Recruiters for the military, post-secondary educational institutions, and prospective employers all share the same access to high school students. Section 9528 of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 sets forth the legal expectations of public schools with regard to military recruiters' access to students.
Access to Student Recruiting Information
The District must provide access to students' names, addresses and telephone listings, upon request, to military recruiters and recruiters from colleges and universities, unless a student has requested no releases of directory information or has selected no release of information to the military only. Requests from the military and colleges are to be processed by Research, Evaluation and Assessment/SISO.
Consent
High School students or parents may ask that the school NOT release the individual student's name, address, and telephone listing without their prior consent. Each fall, an Opt Out form is given to all high school students. Students who returned signed Opt Out forms prior to November 1 are not listed in the directory information provided to the military and/or college or university recruiters.
Same Access to Students
Military recruiters have the same access to secondary school students as is generally provided for post-secondary educational institutions (i.e., colleges, universities, and vocational programs) or to prospective employers of those students.
There are two opt-out forms for students and families who do not want directory information shared with others of outside of the school system
FERPA/Opt Out form
- Due Oct. 1 and involves information to colleges, PTSAs and the military
- Important: The FERPA choice will remain in effect until a parent/guardian wigth custody or student over the age of 18 returns a new form to the school that overriodes the previous choice as eSIS FERPA flags are no longer reset at the beginning of the school year.
Seattle Schools Student Opt-Out Form
- Needs only to be turned in once during the student's high school career; only pertains to sharing information with the military
- Due Oct 1.
Seattle School District #1Policy E14.02 , and other policies listed at the left (screen side-bar) describe the district's expectations with regard to military recruiting. This policy states that each high school shall publish Recruiter Rules, which explain the specific expectations for recruiters on campus. The policy also calls for the district website to include counter-military recruiting information.
Delayed Entry Program
Many students who enlist are signed up into the Delayed Entry Program (DEP) for up to a year prior to reporting for active duty. Students can be signed up, with parent permission, before the age of 18. This way, qualifying students may be able to finish high school, for example, while at the same time reserving a position in the military following graduation.
According to Department of Defense policy, during the time before the DEP student departs for basic training, the student can void his or her contract with the military if he or she so wishes. He or she may do so without any penalty from the military.
Career Counselor and Military Recruiting in High Schools
School Board Policy E14.02 calls for the district to include "counter recruitment" information on its website. The document "Career Counselors and Military Recruiting in High Schools" was developed by the Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) at Garfield High School to provide families with counter recruitment information.