Release of Student "Directory" Information

Under section 9528 of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), local school districts are required to disclose the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of high school students upon request by military recruiters and institutions of higher learning, unless individual students 18 or older or their parents request that the information not be released.

NCLB also requires your school district to inform your students and their parents of their “opt-out” rights under this section, and your school district must comply with any request for non-disclosure received.

Section 9528 of NLCB does not require disclosure of any information that is not considered directory information under the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), or the Buckley Amendment, 20 USC 1232g, and, in fact, mirrors the provisions of FERPA insofar as it requires a mechanism by which parents/students may withhold consent to the disclosure of directory information to military recruiters.

School Access to Military Recruiters

In addition, the school districts are obligated to provide military recruiters with the same access to secondary school students as is provided generally to post secondary educational institutions or to prospective employers of those students. NCLB §9528(a)(3).

State Documents

• Superintendent Cox’s Letter to School Superintendents
• Sample Opt-out Form for Parents
• Sample Opt-out Form for Students 18 or older

Federal Documents and Information

• Paige/Rumsfield Letter to State Chiefs
• US ED Guidance on Military Recruitment and Access
• Military Recruitment language in the No Child Left Behind Act
• Family Education Privacy Act (FERPA) at US ED