Students As Well As Parents Have Opt-out Right
On Friday, September 16, 2005, the Family Policy Compliance Office of the United States Department of Education (FPCO), which administers the military recruiter provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act, confirmed that students are permitted to exercise opt-out rights under the No Child Left Behind Act.
Following an inquiry from the New York Civil Liberties Union, an official at the office wrote: Under the military recruiter provisions, a school is required to notify parents and provide them with an opportunity to opt out. However, because the statute also mentions that students may opt out, we have determined that a school must honor a request made by a student who took the initiative to tell a school not to disclose his or her name, address, & telephone number to military recruiters. The confusion over this issue is due to the fact that the question has only recently been raised to us and we have not issued any guidance on this matter (emphasis supplied).
While a parent can overrule the choice of a minor student, it should be noted that students over the age of 18 must be permitted to make the decision themselves.
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