Military recruiters at high schools has become a topic of discussion, and one local school district is talking about tightening its related procedures.
By law, districts must allow recruiters to visit schools and have access to students’ names, phone numbers and addresses, unless parents and students request information not be released.
All school districts now have forms that simplify “opting out.” The forms are available for parents who do not want their child’s information released to military, media or who choose not to have the information released at all. Forms are due to school offices by Oct. 1 in the Everett School District and Shoreline School District and by Oct. 7 in the Edmonds School District.
There also can be guidelines in place, like those Edmonds is in the process of forming, that maintain the same policies for military recruiters as for any other career or college recruiter.
“We are in the process of solidifying and formalizing these guidelines to clarify the expectations not only for the military, but for all potential employers and institutions of higher learning whenever they meet with our students,” said Ken Limon, an assistant superintendent in Edmonds.
Other school districts, including Everett and Shoreline, are currently not considering evaluating their policies regarding military recruiters in the schools, as both are following the directives of the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). Edmonds also uses the OSPI directives, and the discussion of additional guidelines will not alter that.
Limon and other Edmonds district staff members have met with parents and community groups during the summer and into the start of the school year to discuss the topic, and they hope to have guidelines formulated sometime this month, said district spokesperson Debbie Jakala.
The district allows military recruiters from each branch to visit the high schools once per month. The recruiters can set up an informational booth and talk to only those students who approach the booth, Jakala said. She said the new guidelines should maintain these practices, but they also could outline what was appropriate conduct and handouts provided by recruiters to students.
The district’s main objective is to formalize the standards for military, career and college recruiters.
“Our over-riding desire in all this is to enable our students and their parents to get reliable information to help them make career decisions in a fair and supportive way,” Limon said.
Lynnwood resident Richard Gibson and other Peace Action of Snohomish County members are encouraging families to discuss opting out.
Gibson said he understands entering the military is one route teenagers can take after graduation, but he said students don’t need to receive a lot of pressure through mail and phone calls from recruiters.
“Along with any other career, I think yes, (recruiters) should come, make their presentation and be done with it,” Gibson said.
He has discussed his concerns with Limon and other district officials, and he said he is pleased to see them taking steps to tweak their guidelines.
“There’s progress being made,” Gibson said.
Gibson and other Peace Action members are hoping to spread the word about opting out.
Peace Action members stood outside of Meadowdale High School on Wednesday and were scheduled to do the same in front of Mountlake Terrace High School on Thursday, after The Enterprise deadline. They passed out copies of the form and talked with interested students.
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