Some want military out of Chicago public schools

Jesus Palafox, a 2007 graduate of Curie Metropolitan High School, said he didn’t know what the point of an opt-out form was.

If someone had explained the form’s purpose, he said he would have taken advantage of the opt-out option to stop military recruiters from contacting him.

“We were misinformed on what it was about,” said Palafox, a resident of the Southwest Side Archer Heights community.

In light of military recruiters’ presence in Chicago Public Schools, Palafox and members of the American Friends Service Committee want to spread the word about the opt-out forms, and they’re asking school officials to come up with a  more uniform method of distributing and tracking the forms.

Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, public schools are required to give military recruiters contact information for students, the same basic details that are provided to colleges, universities and prospective employers, unless parents submit an opt-out form to the school

“I have seen up close and personal the increase of military presence in schools,” said Sheena Gibbs, an American Friends Service Committee activist who last month told the Chicago Board of Education it presides over the most militarized school district in the country

The Chicago region of the non-violent activist group has teamed up with Iraq Veterans Against the War and South Siders for Peace to create what they’re calling a “truth-in-recruiting” campaign, which launches Sept. 17

“The opt-out forms are not being given to all the students with clear explanation,” said activist Neal Resnikoff with the Save Senn Coalition. The group opposes the naval academy housed at Nicholas Senn High School in the Edgewater community

At the Aug. 22 board meeting, the American Friends Service Committee demanded that CPS provide a detailed report of how opt-out forms are filed and how many students choose the opt-out option. Gibbs said she also wants her group to be allotted the same rights protected under law as the military, including access to schools to tell students about what they can do once they graduate besides join the military

“We feel like kids should have more options,” said Gibbs

Ana Vargas, a CPS spokeswoman, said that opt-out forms are provided to students by their homeroom teachers and to parents during report card pick-up. However, there isn’t a specific distribution date, and distribution methods vary from school to school, Vargas said

“The Office of High School Programs is responsible for making sure information is disseminated and collected,” she said

David Vance, a member of South Siders for Peace, is the father of a Jones College Preparatory High School graduate and a student at Kenwood Academy High School. He said his older daughter didn’t receive an opt-out form until she was a senior; however, recruiters are allowed to access students’ information starting their sophomore year.

“We have the most militarized high school students of any school district in the nation,” said Vance. “We’re asking for the Chicago Public Schools to let us know how many opt-out forms have been turned in.

Vargas said opt-out forms should be provided every year beginning sophomore year. Once the opt-out forms are turned in, they are kept on file and a list is developed through the high school programs office. Opt-out forms stay in effect throughout a student’s high school career, she said

However, Vargas said she did not know how many forms Chicago Public Schools currently has on record. The district has about 400,000 students.

Patrick Rocks, general counsel for Chicago Public Schools, offered to meet with a small group of American Friends Service Committee members to discuss the issue. Rocks said Chicago Public Schools needs to be aware if there are issues with the opt-out form system.

“If it’s not working, we’ll fix it,” said Rocks.