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Suggested topics for School Board Resolutions 
regarding Military Recruiting on campus

A. Scope and extent of visits
B. Prohibition on omissions or misrepresentations in recruitment
C. Affirmative actions for balanced information
D. Privacy and choice in information disclosures
E. High Schools administering the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB)
F. Guidelines regarding pipelining of High School students to enlist in the armed services. 
G. Information Dissemination
H. Physical safety

A. Scope and extent of visits

1. Whereas Section 9528 of the ESEA requires high schools to admit military recruiters to the same extent as colleges or employers, and 
Whereas, this provision has resulted frequent visits to some high schools in (district), and
Whereas, frequent visits impose time and attention costs, financial costs and risks on (district) detracting from its educational mission, and
Whereas, frequent and extensive visits result in an indoctrination influence incompatible with local control over curriculum in high schools,
POLICY is established: Each high school in (district) shall set limits on the number of visits and the total hours of access by any college, employer, or the military as a whole.  These visits shall not exceed 4 visits per school year, total 48 hours.

2. Schools will request recruiters not to counsel or induce any student to take any action that is unlawful, or in violation of rules of student behavior in this district or the high school.

3. Schools will request recruiters not to induce or persuade students to drop out before graduation from high school, in order to join the military, and will take reasonable measures to monitor and prevent this practice.

4. Schools will request recruiters not to hold themselves out as counselors to the students on the overall question of career planning, academic or college planning, or to counsel them on the GED or other strategies for dropping out of high school or planning for employment or college.

5. Meetings with recruiters during the student's regularly scheduled class times, are to be regarded as absences and will not become a routine practice. 

B. Prohibition of omissions or misrepresentations in recruitment

1.  No employee of the District will knowingly allow material omissions of information or misrepresentations by military recruiters in their presentations to students.  

2.  The term "material omissions or representations" is defined as that which might reasonably result in a student changing their enlistment decision.

3.  Principals will inform teachers, staff and other employees of the nature of this problem and how to report any patterns of abuse they may observe.

C. Affirmative actions for balanced information

The District adopts a principle of affirmative action, to positively ensure that students receive balanced information about critical life choices involving the military. 

The District implements minimum standards to prepare students for critical life choices involving the military, and reduce the likelihood of errors, as follows:

1. The district will develop brief conceptual elements and presentation aids such as booklets, charts, and multimedia which communicate effectively to students the personal costs and risks involved in life choices involving war and military service.  These materials will focus on areas most susceptible to omission or understatement by recruiters intent on enlistment goals. 

2. The district will develop qualification standards, and record-keeping necessary to identify qualified presenters for the District's balancing information elements.

3. The district will implement procedures ensuring equal access to these qualified presenters, to meet with students to balance the advocacy of recruiters. (Note 1)

4. The district will collect information from the qualified presenters sufficient to inform future decisions whether information presentations are necessary to all students, or can be limited to students who are involved in discussions with recruiters. 

5. The district requires detailed review by the school district and high school of all JROTC curricula. JROTC curricula shall not fall below existing civics and history courses in completeness or accuracy, in elements such as citizenship, history, civil rights, or aspects of political participation.

6. JROTC instructors shall be no less qualified or experienced, and shall hold no lower credentials or certification, than other civics or history teachers.

D. Privacy and choice in student information disclosures to the U.S. Department of Defense

The District establishes informed consent as policy, governing all releases of private directory information to military recruiters. 

Whereas, Section 9528 of the ESEA requires that "the local educational agency shall notify parents of the option to make a request, and shall comply with any request.", and
Whereas recruiters have contacted schools prior to September 1 in some districts, and
Whereas the District cannot ensure compliance with Section 9528 without a schedule and procedures, 

1. Schools will inform parents and students of their choice in registration packets each year. 

2. One additional announcement will be made to parents and students informing them of their choices, not less than one week prior to releasing students' names, addresses and phone information to recruiters,

3. District and School computers will keep track of opt-out choices by parents or students, as a separate and discrete choice, without combining them with other privacy preferences.

4. Parents will be required to specifically elect YES or NO on student enrollment forms, to the question of providing student information to recruiters.

5. Parents or students will be allowed to change their YES/NO election up to the last 3 days before release to recruiters, and

6. Schools will not release information to recruiters earlier than October 1 of each school year. 

7. Schools will not release information to recruiters unless requested. 

8.  Requests for directory information by  recruiters will be governed by guidelines (1) to (8) above. The rules in (1) to (8) above apply regardless of the more flexible (district) policy controlling the release of student directory information, or FERPA.

9. The district establishes recordkeeping to determine costs incurred in connection with Sec. 9528 opt-out choices, and the costs of mandatory disclosure of student names, addresses and phones to the Dept. of Defense.

E. High Schools administering the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB)

Whereas the Armed Services ASVAB test has increased the frequency of recruiters' telephone calls, and the degree of insistence of recruiters calls to some students, and causes a degree of targeted or personalized sales that is inappropriate for minor children,

1. Students shall be clearly told that they don't have to take the ASVAB. High schools shall provide students with beneficial alternative educational activities, if their classrooms or teachers are being used for ASVAB testing.

2. The District shall inform principals, teachers, and parents of the eight options regarding the release of test information. At one end of the spectrum is "Option 8. No release to recruiters." (recruiters would not receive students' scores.) The default option for schools is known as "Option 1. No special instructions." Under this option, recruiters are free to obtain scores and use them however they wish. In between these two extremes are a number of options specifying when recruiters may receive full information or whether they will be given access to phone numbers.

3. Principals in (district) shall protect students' privacy by implementing "ASVAB Option 8" (keeping the test results from recruiters), informing the military before the test is given. If a school chooses this option, students who want their scores to go to the military can still permit them to go to recruiters on an individual basis. (The military provides a special permission form for such requests.) However, it doesn't work the other way around. If a school chooses to release information to recruiters, this information will be handed over for all students, removing choice from some students. 

4. ASVAB scores shall be regarded as confidential educational records within the definition of FERPA, for which disclosure is prohibited without parent approval.  Student approval of releases, such as within the ASVAB test forms, shall not be permitted.

F. Guidelines regarding pipelining of High School students to enlist in the armed services. 

Whereas the personal costs and risks involved in military enlistment are categorically different than other career or educational options available to students, 

1.  No district employee shall recommend or advocate the military enlistment option to students under the age of 18.   

2.  No information or counseling about military enlistment shall be made available on an ad-hoc basis, without the concurrent presentation of balancing information required in sections B. and C. above.

3.  Principals shall ensure that teachers and counselors are made aware of these provisions, and shall ensure that the necessary for  addressed. 

4.  Wherever post-graduation outcomes are considered or measured in evaluating high schools, educators and administrators in (District),  postsecondary education shall be measured positively.  All other categories including dropouts or employment or unemployed statuses shall be treated equally as neutral outcomes.

G.  Information dissemination

1. Military recruiting announcements will not be included over the PA system, on the websites, or in printed materials paid for or operated by the (District).

2. Military recruiters' brochures shall not have greater shelf space or prominence in career centers or counselors areas, than accorded to each college or university.  Any college or university, upon request, shall be entitled to a comparable allocation of space as provided to military recruiters.

H.  Physical safety

Whereas military recruiters are often adult males,  and 
whereas students may regard uniformed military members as persons of authority or special trust, and be particularly vulnerable to them, and
whereas recruiters interact with students extensively both on and off campus, at times and circumstances not limited to normal school hours,  now,
therefore, the District establishes as policy, that schools in this district will protect students' safety in their dealings with recruiters on campus, and establishes guidelines to minimize the possibility that a recruiter assault or sexually exploit any student undetected: 

1. Schools will maintain a record of the identity of each recruiter visiting the school, and as a minimum, the school will contact their military command and confirm whether that service member has had any prior offenses before or during their military service.

2. Schools will require advance notification before visits by recruiters to the school, and maintain a log of the times, dates and recruiters involved in the visits.

3. Recruiters will be restricted to designated locations, and not permitted to move about the campus unaccompanied by a teacher or staff.  Designated areas will be publicly visible, such as student centers or cafeterias; private offices or conference rooms will not be provided.

Note 1. In San Diego Committee v. Governing Board of Grossmont Union High School District [790 F.2d 1471 (9th Cir. 1986)] the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, “The Board cannot allow the presentation of one side of an issue, but prohibit the presentation of the other side.... Here, the Board permitted mixed political and commercial speech advocating military service, but attempted to bar the same type of speech opposing such service. Accordingly, the Board violated the First Amendment.” (See also Searcey v. Crim [815 F.2d 1389 (11th Cir. 1987)] at www.objector.org/recruiting.html .)

Note 2. citation from ESEA as amended by No Child Left Behind:

SEC. 9528. ARMED FORCES RECRUITER ACCESS TO STUDENTS AND STUDENT RECRUITING INFORMATION.

(a) POLICY-

(1) ACCESS TO STUDENT RECRUITING INFORMATION- Notwithstanding section 444(a)(5)(B) of the General Education Provisions Act and except as provided in paragraph (2), each local educational agency receiving assistance under this Act shall provide, on a request made by military recruiters or an institution of higher education, access to secondary school students names, addresses, and telephone listings.

(2) CONSENT- A secondary school student or the parent of the student may request that the student's name, address, and telephone listing described in paragraph (1) not be released without prior written parental consent, and the local educational agency or private school shall notify parents of the option to make a request and shall comply with any request.

(3) SAME ACCESS TO STUDENTS- Each local educational agency receiving assistance under this Act shall provide military recruiters the same access to secondary school students as is provided generally to post secondary educational institutions or to prospective employers of those students.