NEWS

ACLU Settles Lawsuit Over Release of
Student Information to Military Recruiters
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT:
Peter Simonson, Executive Director, ACLU of New Mexico at 505-266-4622 or (cell) 505-620-0775

Karen Meyers, ACLU Cooperating Attorney, Aguilar Law Offices, P.C., 242-6677

ALBUQUERQUE – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico has settled a civil rights lawsuit against Albuquerque Public Schools for sending students’ contact information directly to military recruiters without properly notifying parents of their right to opt out of such information sharing. The federal No Child Left Behind Act grants secondary school students and their parents the right to deny the military access to a student’s name, address, and telephone listing. Legal papers filed by the ACLU claim that, in 2004, several APS high schools failed to notify parents of this right until weeks, and in some cases, months, after those schools had already shared students’ information with the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy.

The ACLU lawsuit is the first of its kind anywhere in the country.

“We live in a time when a student’s decision to sign up for the military is likely to land him or her right on the field of battle,” said ACLU Executive Director Peter Simonson. “Understandably, many parents want to limit the access that recruiters have to their children. Schools have an ethical and legal obligation to give them that control and to respect students’ privacy.”

Under a settlement agreement, APS will adopt and implement a policy that requires the district to include information about the No Child Left Behind Act in the registration packet that each secondary school mails to parents before registration. The materials will include a form by which parents may request that a student’s name, address, and telephone listing not be released to military recruiters. Once parents have made such a request, their wish will remain in effect until it is changed in writing by the student or the parents. In addition to making the policy change, APS paid $20,000 in attorney fees.

ACLU volunteer attorney Karen Meyers (of Aguilar Law Offices, P.C.) said, “It’s not enough to bury the notice of parents’ opt-out rights somewhere on a school website or in a student handbook. The notice to parents has to be ‘meaningful’. The school has to bring the information to parents’ attention so that they can make an informed and conscious choice. APS wasn’t doing that and we suspect that many other districts around the state aren’t doing it.”

Asked if the ACLU would consider bringing similar legal action against other non-complying school districts, Executive Director Simonson said, “Absolutely. We expect to go to other school districts and say, ‘Here’s what APS did. We expect you to do the same.’”
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Peter G. Simonson
Executive Director | ACLU of New Mexico
PO Box 566 | Albuquerque, NM 87103
Tel: (505) 266-5915 | Fax: (505) 266-5916