A parent of a high school student will share her concerns with the School Board tonight about high school students being recruited by the military with the help of schools.
The meeting is at 7 p.m. at the school administration center, 3801 N. Campbell Road.
Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, schools are required to share names, phone numbers and addresses of juniors and seniors with military recruiters or risk losing federal funding.
Most parents aren't aware they can alert school officials not to share the information with the military, parent Lorri Cornett said.
Cornett said the information is buried in the VHS student handbook in a paragraph which she feels blurs the distinction between law and policy.
While she would like to see the board support a change in the law, she she will settle for a better local policy.
Cornett wants one which informs parents of their options by letter, not by handbook.
Superintendent Michael Benway said he believes the handbook notice represents compliance with the federal law and that he will recommend that the board continue to follow the law.
He said the district already has a three-page list of notices required either by law or by board policy. Entitled “Indiana Annual Notices,” it includes more than 30 notices.
Lawmakers argued that the provision in the No Child Left Behind law put the military on equal footing with college and university recruiters.
But in Valparaiso, the district does not release student information to educational institutions unless students give permission.
Students should be able to opt out at any reasonable time, she said.
As for students changing their minds after their sophomore year, “We're very accommodating,” Valparaiso High School principal Patrick Weil said.
Weil said students' files are flagged when they “opt out,” but that no one has kept tally of how many have chosen not to be taken off recruitment lists.
School board attorney David Hollenbeck said he's confident the district is in compliance with the federal education law, but if Cornett feels the policy needs changing, the board room is the place to do it.
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