PRESS RELEASE: "Parents & Students to Testify at NJ Bd of Ed Calling for
Changes Regarding Military Recruitment Protections"

For more information, contact Tina Weishaus at (732) 572-0335 or (732)
207-4206 (cell)

A press conference has been called on the steps of the NJ Department of
Education at 100 Riverview Plaza in Trenton, on Wednesday, September 21 at 2
PM.  Parents and students and organizations concerned about military
recruitment in the high schools will be present to speak to the press about
the testimony that they will offer at the Department of Education Open
Topics Hearing at 3 PM in the 1st floor Conference Room.  Copies of the
testimony will be made available to the press on Wednesday.  Organizations
represented at the press conference will include Coalition for Peace Action,
a student group from Montclair called Oye, Oye!, Central Jersey Coalition
Against Endless War, NJ Peace Action and the Catholic Peace Fellowship.

Parents and students will be calling on the Board of Education to amend the
NJ Administrative Code to ensure the fullest measure of student privacy
required by the law and regulated by the State Board of Education.  They
will also be calling on the Board of Education to further ensure a safe,
non-coercive and uncompromised education environment for all students which
is put into question by the presence of the military in our children's
cafeterias, hallways and classrooms.

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is a federal statute that preempts
State privacy regulations, but only to the limited extent provided by the
federal law.  NCLB requires schools to release ONLY the names, mailing
addresses and telphone numbers to students to military recruiters upon
request.  It also requires that parents and secondary school students be
given the opportunity to "opt out" of providing that private information and
that parents be notified.

Unfortunately, school districts have been releasing this information without
adequately informing parents of their rights.  Many, if not the majority of
parents around NJ are completely unaware that their schools are sending
their child's name, address and telephone number to any military recruiter
who requests it.  And most districts are not recognizing the separate right
of students themselves to "opt out" as legislated by NCLB.  There is
inadequate protection for parents and students alike which leads to an
invasion of their privacy which should be fully protected by the law.

Parents and students will also testify regarding the "preferred access"
status that the military has been getting in schools.  NCLB and NJ State Law
require that local school districts provide military recruiters "equal
access" as educational and occupational recruiters.  However, in practice,
the military requests and spends far more time in high schools than colleges
and other prospective employers, and is left unsupervised with students as
young as 7th graders who have not asked for an appointment to speak to a
recruiter, but are spending their lunch time or gym class with one.

According to one of the parents testifying, Tina Weishaus from Highland
Park, NJ, "It is critical that the State Board members protect ALL parents
and students in NJ, not just leaving it to the small number of districts
where people have demanded improved policies and practices around the
military. They can do this by amending the state regulation and requiring
minimum standards to ensure student privacy.  We are hopeful that they will
take our request seriously by instituting a uniform policy for all districts
regarding 'opt out' procedures and military access to students."