Parents who don?t want military recruiters trying to woo their children could opt out more easily, under a bill before a state Senate committee debated Thursday.
The bill would create a “yes” or “no” box parents could check in their child?s emergency contact information to keep recruiters away from their kids.
“In every jurisdiction, parents can opt out, but the problem is that in a 40-page student information guide, a sentence on page 32 may explain the options but
most people aren?t going to see that,” said Sen. Paul Pinsky, D-Prince George?s, the bill?s sponsor.
“At least a parent can make a confident, conscious decision of having it approved,” Pinsky told the Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee Thursday.
A little-known provision of the federal No Child Left Behind Act requires schools to hand over students? names, addresses and phone numbers to military recruiters unless parents specifically tell their principals and superintendents not to. Military recruiters then use the information for phone calls, mailings and personal visits.
Parents praised Pinsky?s proposal.
“This makes them aware that there could be military recruitment on campuses and simplify this for school staff to update their computer systems,” said Laura Carr, vice president for legislation for the Maryland Parent Teacher Association.
“Instead of going though letters and e-mails that parents may have written, when they input information into their system, it will just be one more column in their database.”
Parents statewide have complained to schools when their children came home excited about flying jets and owning guns after a military recruiter espoused the benefits of signing up during a visit to school parents didn?t even know about.
