PHILADELPHIA, PA - August 30 - September is the time vacationing students head back to the classroom. It’s also the month peace and social justice groups across the country prepare for National “Opt-Out” Week, a five-day effort designed to call greater attention to the military recruitment provisions of the controversial No Child Left Behind Act.

National “Opt-Out” Week will be held from September 20 - 24. The effort is sponsored by the National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth (NNOMY), a growing network of groups working to stop the militarization of schools and youths.

National “Opt-Out” Week gives school boards, principals, parents and students a change to get more familiar with No Child Left Behind provisions, which requires school districts to share students’ names, addresses, and telephone numbers with military recruiters.

“Often parents and their high school students have no knowledge of this provision, nor are they aware of their right to “opt out” of having their private information handed over to military recruiters,” explains Oskar Castro, national coordinator of the Philadelphia-based American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) Youth and Militarism program. “Heightening the problem, school districts are often unable to adequately inform parents or students of the requirement.”

Castro adds, “At the same time National “Opt-Out” Week counters an insidious trend to paint the U.S. military as a safe, beneficial and alternative jobs program.”

The effort also highlights related issues such as recruitment fraud and misinformation about the delayed enlistment program and the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery in public schools.

In addition to the Service Committee, NNOMY participating organizations have included: the Friends Committee on National Legislation, Young Adult Program; Not in Our Name; Pax Christi USA; United For Peace and Justice and Voices in the Wilderness.

For more information or questions concerning National “Opt-Out” Week, contact the AFSC National Youth & Militarism Program at 215-241-7046. Sample ‘opt-out’ letters or information for parents, and high school students who wish to learn more about how to ‘opt out’ of having their personal information given to military recruiters can visit the AFSC web site at http://www.afsc.org/youthmil/no-child.htm.

Known for its historic role assisting conscientious objectors during wartime, the American Friends Service Committee and the British Friends Service Council accepted the Nobel Peace Prize for humanitarian service on behalf of Quakers worldwide.

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