ACLU of Maine Urges Change In Student Privacy Protection
Personal Information Should Not Automatically Go To Military Recruiters, Says ACLU
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 16, 2012
Contact: Shenna Bellows, 774-5444
Students and their parents should be able to choose whether their private information is shared with military recruiters when schools administer the military’s entrance exam, according to a letter the ACLU of Maine sent today to Maine Department of Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen. Maine is one of only six states in the country where no students have the option to limit the disclosure of their information to the military.
“While a career in the armed forces may be the right choice for some students, it is not appropriate for schools to be turning over all students’ extremely personal information to military recruiters without their consent,” said Shenna Bellows, executive director of the ACLU of Maine. “Maine should adopt a policy requiring schools to protect students’ privacy rights.”
Currently, Maine schools automatically provide military recruiters with full access to personal information for all students who take the Armed Services Vocational Battery (ASVAB) exam. This includes a student’s date of birth, Social Security number, ethnic group identification, and plans after graduation.
The ACLU of Maine is urging that families be allowed to decide for themselves whether to share a student’s personal information with military recruiters. Schools can easily choose to forgo automatic disclosure and instead give students and their families the choice about what personal information they want to share.
“Students taking the ASVAB exam should be given the choice of how much information to hand over to military recruiters,” said Jon Gaither, Education Organizer at the ACLU of Maine. “We urge schools to provide greater privacy protections and give personal choice back to families.”
Schools that allow the military to administer the ASVAB exam have several options as to how the results are shared, but they must be exercised by the principal or another administrator. There is no opportunity for students to individually decide their release option. Therefore, it is in the best interest of the student body to require the principal to select the option with the greatest privacy protections and personal choice for families.
A copy of the ACLU’s letter is available online at: www.aclumaine.org/node/1482
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