Md. 1st to bar schools releasing tests to military

[unhappycamper]

Md. 1st to bar schools releasing tests to military
By KATHLEEN MILLER
Associated Press Writer
May 12, 3:44 PM EDT

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- A first-of-its-kind law bars public high schools in Maryland from automatically sending student scores on a widely used military aptitude test to recruiters, a practice that critics say was giving the armed forces backdoor access to young people without their parents' consent.

School districts around the country have the choice of whether to administer the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery exam, and ones that offer it typically pass the scores and students' contact information directly to the military. Topics on the test range from math and reading to knowledge of electronics and automobiles.

The Maryland law, the first in the nation after similar California legislation was vetoed, was signed last month and bars schools from automatically releasing the information to military recruiters. Instead, students, and their parents if they are under 18, will have to decide whether to give the information to the military. The law takes effect in July. One other state, Hawaii, has a similar policy for its schools, but not a law.

Roughly 650,000 U.S. high school students took the exam in the 2008-2009 school year, and the Department of Defense says scores for 92 percent of them were automatically sent to military recruiters. In the fiscal year that ended in September, 7.6 percent of those who enlisted in the military used scores from the test as part of their applications.

Nancy Grasmick, Maryland Superintendent of Schools, said in a letter to lawmakers that the test and score analysis are "free services that public schools often utilize as part of their ongoing career development and exploration programs." Grasmick took no position on the legislation in her letter and did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

[T Wolf]

1. Great decision. We must stop the kidnapping of our children by the MIC. Without the

cannon fodder, it will be harder for them to wage their wars.

My guidance counselor wife has to deal with these shits who plague the schools like a cancer. She does not give in and makes them obey the rules imposed on other "recruiters."

[HopeHoops]

2. Yeah, in PA we have to sign an "opt-out" form. I just got it today and it is going out tomorrow.

I signed it for my eldest, but they STILL sent her all kinds of recruitment shit.

[ensho]

3. thank you Maryland my home state

(born in D.C. - raised my kids in Md.)