No Child Left Unrecruited

The No Child Left Behind Act goes far beyond ensuring that kids get a decent education—it allows military recruiters to gather private information about students from their high school records.

Hidden in the 670-page act is a passage that requires public secondary schools to supply military recruiters with students' names, addresses, and phone numbers. If the schools refuse, they lose their federal funding, says Anita Ramasastry, an assistant professor of law at Washington University School of Law in Seattle. Parents can opt out of having the information disclosed if they act in time to halt disclosure, but schools won't always provide sufficient notice, Ramasastry adds.

Mary Costabile, associate director of the American Library Association's Washington office, says ALA finds this invasion of privacy objectionable.