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Bill is response to federal requirement that schools provide students’ personal information to the military
November 3, 2005
AUGUSTA – A bill submitted by Rep. David Farrington, D-Gorham, will address a provision deep within the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act requiring public schools to provide student information to the military. The bi-partisan legislative council approved the bill this week, and it will be taken up when the legislature convenes in January.
Under NCLB, public high schools are now required to provide military recruiters with students' personal information in order to facilitate recruitment efforts. The law says that parents have the right to "opt-out," but it leaves it to each school's discretion how parents are notified of this right. As a result, schools vary widely in how they provide this notice, and many parents are unaware of the fact that their children’s information is being shared with the military.
Farrington’s bill would require that the opportunity to opt-out be included on every high school's emergency cards, which parents have to fill out and sign at the start of the school year. Portland and some school districts in other states have applied this approach this year. Farrington said that it is a good commonsense privacy policy that the entire state should adopt.
“The requirements placed on our schools under No Child Left Behind go beyond test results and teacher evaluations,” said Farrington, who earlier this year successfully sponsored legislation to protect consumer privacy in regard to financial institutions. “The military has the right to request the information, but parents should know that it’s happening, and that they have options.”
Farrington teaches world history at Yarmouth High School. He submitted the bill with concerns that many of the students at his school, in Gorham and across the state are unaware that the military can request their personal information unless they opt-out.
Bills taken up in the second regular session are typically of emergency nature only, and require majority approval from the bipartisan legislative council.
Contact:
David Farrington
Travis Kennedy, Legislative Aide
Kaylene Waindle Communications Director
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