Reminder- Schools starting - No Child Left Behind military opt out form

[Sydnie]

http://www.mothersagainstthedraft.org/files/forms/NCLB%20Opt-Out%20Form.pdf

Posted as a reminder for all parents of high school aged students to send in those opt out forms. I signed my daughter's form tonight. this opts your child out of the provision of NCLB that provides your child's information to the recruiters that visit your child's school as well as the database that the government collects with military interest.

Schools should supply these forms and notify you of the need to opt out of this portion of the law, should you desire to do so for your child but many districts just plain don't notify you. Be proactive and notify them yourself.

edited to add full name of the law for those that might not be familar (as suggested below) :hi:

[Wilms]

1. Good move, Sydnie. n/t

[latebloomer]

2. Thanks, just did this yesterday!

Our district provides the "opt-out" form, and over 90% of last year's families did just that!

[Sydnie]

3. I wish my kids school did that

but my son just graduated after 4 years (9-12), and not once did they send a form home or bring it to my attention. I learned about this option from a thread just like this one here at DU.

Just paying it forward with this post. :)

[efhmc]

4. I am kicking so this will be displayed to those affected.

I am definitely out of this loop (2 grown daughters and 2 under 5 gsons)but supplying the name of the form and not just the acronym might help those who do not know what this is. You are saving lives with this thread. Thanks you so, so much.

[Sydnie]

6. Done

thanks for the suggestion.

I felt the same way, that someone was saving a life (as well as my sanity) when they posted the thread that I read about it here too.

Thanks for the kick and the rec.

[jazzjunkysue]

5. Sent mine in last week. Then I washed my hands in clorox.

[SeattleVet]

7. Kicked and recommended to get it in front of the people who need to know

about this.

[havocmom]

8. Happy to give this one its fifth

This is important, people. If you have kids in school, look into the opt-out option. If you don't, make sure everyone you know with kids in school is aware of the situation. Too many people don't know their kids are being preyed upon behind their backs by military recruiters. Too many find out on the kids' 18th birthday, when they sign on the line after a year or two of being courted my recruiters.

[kster]

9. My area is growing, I did an opt-out

for my son in his last school, this year he changed schools he is in 7th grade, same area, do you have to send in another form or will the last form stay in effect?

Thank you for this thread, we need this kind of imformation, Thank Goodness for the INTERNET, how else would we have found out about this "RICH KIDS" loop hole to stay out of the war.


The lawmakers will always build in a way, to keep their kids from having to serve AND THIS "OPT OUT" PROGRAM IS IT. Last time it was College. KEEP SPREADING THE WORD......RECOMMENDED

[Nevernose]

10. New form

Unlike NCLB, under this law, every school is the same.

[Sydnie]

11. The way the law is set up, you must send a new opt out request every year

They don't make it easy, do they? A new request must be filed every year, at the beginning of the school year.

[havocmom]

13. Think schools do NOT have to send the forms

Parents have to be pro-active and ask for it.

Some people have reported their schools sent forms home. Some have reported they had to go get them. A few have reported the schools gave them a run-around and tried to avoid giving the forms at all. So you best take action NOW and make sure you get the forms filed BEFORE the school gives contact info for you kids to the military!

It pays to pay attention to who is doing what as far as policy setting at school boards. That is where a lot of winger control exists - at local level- in many communities. It pays to go to board meetings and see just what the agendas of board members are. It will shock you in many cases!

Then, people need to keep an eye open for any agendas of individual school's administration. There are a few bad apples out there among the people we entrust our children to. Make damned sure the schools ARE getting the forms to parents and ARE abiding by parental wishes in this matter. There are some real hawks who want to send Johnny and Jane off to war.

Leave nothing to chance. This is about your kids and their future. Who has influence over adolescent children, you or predatory recruiters who need to fill quotas?

Kids that age have normal friction with the 'parental unit'. The military knows that. Recruiters will fill kids' heads with how cool it will be to be free of parental authority. It is a horrible, horrible trick to play on young people.

Military life is good for some. But military life, under the current Commander in Chief? Save your kids. Opt out. Go down in person and get the forms from your schools. DO IT EVERY YEAR WITH EVERY CHILD YOU HAVE. Do not assume ANYTHING.

And tell everyone you can. It is important.

[Sydnie]

15. I don't even use a form myself

I write the letter myself. I have sent this for the past 4 years for my son and now am sending it for my daughter and they accept it as notification, just as they should. The law doesn't say that it needs to be on any specific form, just that you must submit your request in writing.

To: XXXXXXXX School District
RE: No Child Left Behind Act - Military Directory Information

To Whom It May Concern:

I request that you not release any information concerning my daughter, XXXX XXXX, included in the Directory Information, without my prior written consent. I do not, under any circumstances, want my daughter’s information released to any military recruiters, military directories or other agencies directly or indirectly associated with any military entity, representative, or affiliate.

I further request that my daughter not be compelled to participate in any military aptitude testing usually conducted throughout the school year.


Thank you for your attention to this matter.

My daughter gave me a letter this morning (wonders never cease, huh?) that was to inform the parents that they had the option of opting out. Funny thing, it was such a form letter that they didn't even address the areas where the template required them to. They left the {insert date} in the letter, instead of actually inserting a date by which the requests must be received and left in {school district} where they should have inserted the name of the district that the request should be addressed to. What morons!

They did include a list of the information that they MIGHT make available and then stated that they would make all that info available when requested. Here's the list:

Student's name
Participation in officially recognized activities and sports
Address
Telephone listing
Weight and height of members of athletic teams
Electronic mail address
Photograph
Degrees, honors, and awards received
Date and place of birth
Major field of study
Dates of attendance
Grade level
The most recent educational agency or institution attended

That is an awful lot of information to let them have free rein over, IMHO.

[havocmom]

16. Good on ya!

Can ya keep this one kicked today? It is still news to too many parents.

[Sydnie]

17. Kickity kick n/t

[havocmom]

18. And one more for the night shift

:kick:

[AngryOldDem]

12. School districts may also have these forms online...

...which might not be a bad idea to fill out, depending on how anal-retentive your particular district is.

[4_TN_TITANS]

14. Just a guess....

but I'm betting that private or charter schools (the more privileged) aren't subjected to the military requests.