thedrifter
02-26-09, 06:59 AM
February 26, 2009
Groups to protest change in way district releases Rochester student info to military
Erica Bryant
Staff writer
Rochester anti-war groups and privacy advocates plan to speak out against a change to the way the Rochester School District releases student information to military recruiters at a Board of Education meeting this evening.
The No Child Left Behind Act requires high schools to provide contact information for students to the military unless their parents object.
In the past, the district has withheld the information unless parents returned a form saying they wanted the information shared. In January, the district sent a letter to parents saying that the information would be released unless such a form was returned objecting.
School board member Willa Powell strongly objected to the change at a recent meeting, saying that it represented insubordination on the part of Superintendent Jean-Claude Brizard. District General Counsel Charles Johnson said the district has been out of compliance with the federal law and federal funding may be in jeopardy. He said that only a handful of parents have sent in forms allowing the district to share information and the military has not been satisfied. Brizard said the district needs to find a way to align the board policy to the law.
Spokesmen for at least one branch of the military say it is up to districts to determine how lists of student directory information are generated.
U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Arnold Selvidge of the Buffalo Recruitment Office said he contacted the Rochester School District earlier in February because information that the Marines received from the district earlier in the school year was incomplete. It contained names, and in some case addresses, but no phone numbers.
Selvidge said that he was trying to find out how to get more complete information, in accordance with the district's policy. He said that he made no threats to the district regarding federal funding.
Marine Corps Capt. Donald Caetano said that Marines recruitment offices want to work within the parameters put in place by boards of education or any locality. "Just give us a fair chance to present our case," said Caetano, who is the public affairs officer for the First Marine Corps District representing nine Northeast states.
"The ultimate goal is to give (students) information about opportunities that may be available to them," Selvidge said, lamenting that so far this year he has seen only one Rochester School District student apply for an ROTC scholarship.
Doug Noble of Rochester Against War is encouraging fellow members to speak out at the board meeting. He supports federal legislation that would free school districts from the requirement to provide students' information to the military.
"The bottom line is a couple of senators snuck this (provision) into the NCLB," Noble said. "That Title 1 money for disadvantaged students should ride on compliance with those paragraphs is an obscenity. They have nothing to do with education."
Gary Pudup, the director of the Genesee Valley Chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union, is also encouraging members to speak in favor of protecting students' privacy. He said that the Marines' experience suggests controversy would end if the district would follow its policy and provide complete information about students whose parents give permission.
"The need here isn't to change the policy," he said. "The need is to follow through with the policy that they have now."
He stresses that his group is not anti-military. "For a lot of people, military careers are a good thing," he said. "Our point is, let's do it right."
EBRYANT@DemocratandChronicle.com
Ellie
Groups to protest change in way district releases Rochester student info to military
Erica Bryant
Staff writer
Rochester anti-war groups and privacy advocates plan to speak out against a change to the way the Rochester School District releases student information to military recruiters at a Board of Education meeting this evening.
The No Child Left Behind Act requires high schools to provide contact information for students to the military unless their parents object.
In the past, the district has withheld the information unless parents returned a form saying they wanted the information shared. In January, the district sent a letter to parents saying that the information would be released unless such a form was returned objecting.
School board member Willa Powell strongly objected to the change at a recent meeting, saying that it represented insubordination on the part of Superintendent Jean-Claude Brizard. District General Counsel Charles Johnson said the district has been out of compliance with the federal law and federal funding may be in jeopardy. He said that only a handful of parents have sent in forms allowing the district to share information and the military has not been satisfied. Brizard said the district needs to find a way to align the board policy to the law.
Spokesmen for at least one branch of the military say it is up to districts to determine how lists of student directory information are generated.
U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Arnold Selvidge of the Buffalo Recruitment Office said he contacted the Rochester School District earlier in February because information that the Marines received from the district earlier in the school year was incomplete. It contained names, and in some case addresses, but no phone numbers.
Selvidge said that he was trying to find out how to get more complete information, in accordance with the district's policy. He said that he made no threats to the district regarding federal funding.
Marine Corps Capt. Donald Caetano said that Marines recruitment offices want to work within the parameters put in place by boards of education or any locality. "Just give us a fair chance to present our case," said Caetano, who is the public affairs officer for the First Marine Corps District representing nine Northeast states.
"The ultimate goal is to give (students) information about opportunities that may be available to them," Selvidge said, lamenting that so far this year he has seen only one Rochester School District student apply for an ROTC scholarship.
Doug Noble of Rochester Against War is encouraging fellow members to speak out at the board meeting. He supports federal legislation that would free school districts from the requirement to provide students' information to the military.
"The bottom line is a couple of senators snuck this (provision) into the NCLB," Noble said. "That Title 1 money for disadvantaged students should ride on compliance with those paragraphs is an obscenity. They have nothing to do with education."
Gary Pudup, the director of the Genesee Valley Chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union, is also encouraging members to speak in favor of protecting students' privacy. He said that the Marines' experience suggests controversy would end if the district would follow its policy and provide complete information about students whose parents give permission.
"The need here isn't to change the policy," he said. "The need is to follow through with the policy that they have now."
He stresses that his group is not anti-military. "For a lot of people, military careers are a good thing," he said. "Our point is, let's do it right."
EBRYANT@DemocratandChronicle.com
Ellie