Feature on the No Child Left Behind Act

A provision in the "No Child Left Behind" Act, signed by President George W. Bush in 2002, seeks to bolster military recruitment efforts by requiring high schools to give military recruiters private information about their students or lose federal funding. Though the Act requires the schools to obtain parent and/or student consent to release private information, the manner in which the military gains consent is controversial.

Most schools use the "Opt Out" method, meaning the information will be given to the recruiters unless the parents choose not to have this information released. A few schools have chosen a fairer "Opt In" approach, where information is released only when the parents give their affirmative permission for the recruiters to contact the student. The ACLU is  trying to inform students and parents about these options, and encouraging more schools to switch to "Opt In."