Release of Student Information to Recruiters and School Campus Visits May 2010 Revision

As used in this procedural directive, “post-secondary recruiter” means a person who recruits students to enroll in a school, college or university; to join a branch of the armed services; or to join a business, firm or other employment.

As used in this procedural directive, “directory information” means students’ names, addresses and telephone numbers.

Elementary and Secondary Education Act mandates that, upon request by a military recruiter, school districts provide access to all currently enrolled secondary school students’ directory information except in instances when the student has “opted out” of release of directory information.  A secondary school student or the parent/legal guardian of the student may request that the student’s directory information not be released to any military or post-secondary recruiter by signing and returning the exemption-from-disclosure form to the school designee. The district shall notify students and parents/legal guardians of the option to withhold directory information.  The district shall comply with these “opt-out” requests regarding the release of information of directory information.

Notification

Each secondary school shall provide notice reflecting the federal mandate to release secondary students’ directory information to post-secondary recruiters, including military recruiters, at least once each semester. Each high school shall include a district created and approved exemption-from-disclosure form in all secondary student registration packets. This exemption-from-disclosure form shall have an option for students and/or parents/legal guardians to opt out of any student directory information release to post-secondary recruiters. The exemption-from-disclosure form shall provide a date by which to return the form to the secondary school. Secondary schools may also provide the exemption-from-disclosure form during New Mexico or district-mandated conferences and/or parent/teacher conferences.

Individual secondary schools shall use only the district created and exemption-from-disclosure form and shall obtain this form from the district office that generates and distributes yearly student registration cards.

This form shall be given no less than two weeks prior to the secondary school releasing students’ directory information to post-secondary recruiters.

Release of Information

All releases of student directory information to a post-secondary recruiter shall occur after the first reporting of school enrollment as mandated by the New Mexico Public Education Department. The district shall not release student directory information to non-district entities unless specifically required to do so by federal or state statute or regulation.

Entry of Data

Each school shall enter the request made by the student and/or parent/legal guardian into the student information system in such a way that the custodian of public records being asked to provide student directory information to post-secondary recruiters may readily determine whether a request has been made to withhold student directory information.  The information shall be entered before the first reporting of school enrollment as mandated by the New Mexico Public Education Department or within five (5) days of registration of a new student to the school location.

Requests to Withhold Information Effective Until Changed

Once a student and/or parent/legal guardian has made a request to withhold the secondary student’s directory information to post-secondary recruiters, that request shall be effective as to successive school years, unless changed in writing by the student and/or parent/legal guardian by providing a new form indicating any changes elected by the student and/or parent/legal guardian.

Processing Requests for Student Information

All requests for secondary student directory information received from post-secondary recruiters shall be referred to the district’s custodian of public records for response. Prior to releasing student directory information in response to a request by post-secondary recruiters, the custodian of public records shall ask that all individual secondary schools have provided the required notice to parents/legal guardians. The district custodian of public records shall also ask that any request made to withhold student directory information has been entered into the student information system. The district shall not release directory information of any student who has requested, or whose parent/legal guardian has requested that the information not be released.

Background Checks on Post-Secondary Recruiters and Community Service Group Representatives

All non-Albuquerque Public School personnel shall obtain a district background check prior to meeting with students on school campuses unless they are under direct supervision of a certified Albuquerque Public Schools employee.

Recruiter Visits On Secondary School Campuses

Post-secondary recruiters wishing to visit a secondary school campus shall adhere to the following standards of conduct:

1. Clearly identify purpose of the school visit as a military or post-secondary recruiting visit and the type of programs and/or activities to be offered and/or discussed on the school campus. 
2. Meet with the district or school’s designee to review expectations and parameters for secondary school visits.
3. Contact the individual secondary school’s designee to review expectations and parameters of secondary school visits.
4. Notify the secondary school at least one day in advance of any visit to the school campus to engage in recruiting activities.
5. Comply with school and district requirements to sign in as a visitor and sign out when leaving the school campus.
6. Comply with requirements to record visits and information in the school’s “Recruitment Visits” log.
7. Remain in administratively approved and provided locations that are publicly visible and accessible, such as student centers, classrooms or cafeterias, and to be subject to supervision by school staff while on school campuses.
8. Under no circumstances may a post-secondary recruiter take a student off school campus during the academic day.

Access to School Campuses

The district shall not release student directory information to post-secondary recruiters unless specifically required to do so by federal or state statute or regulation.

Each school shall record all requests for visits from post-secondary recruiters and community services groups, including charter schools, to a school campus. Each school shall identify the organization, date of the request, date of the requested visit, the reason for the visit, the organization’s contact information and the decision, including rationale, made by the principal, or school designee, to either approve or deny the visit.  If approval for a visit is granted, the school shall record the visit identifying the organization, the date and time of the visit, the reason for the visit and the organization’s contact information.  These records may be requested from the school by the appropriate associate superintendent at any time.  Principals shall ensure records are kept up-to-date and contain accurate information prior to sending the information to the appropriate associate superintendent.

Principals, after consultation with the appropriate associate superintendent, may allow community service groups with an educational focus access to students on school campuses provided that the access is outside of instructional time and the group receives prior approval from the principal or school designee. Principals may allow locally authorized charter schools access to students on school campuses outside of the instructional day. State authorized charter schools shall not have access to students on school campuses.  Representatives of community service groups with an educational focus, including locally authorized charter schools, shall contact the principal or designee at the individual school and follow the procedures in the “Recruiter Visits on Secondary School Campuses” section of this procedural directive.

Denial of Visits

Albuquerque Public Schools reserves the right to deny of post-secondary recruiters and community service groups access to school campuses and students if there is demonstrated behavior of noncompliance with this procedural directive by a post-secondary recruiter and/or community service group.

Administrative Position:  Associate Superintendent of High Schools/Assistant Superintendent of School and Community Support

Department Director:  Custodian of Public Records

References:

Legal Cross Ref.:  

• Elementary and Secondary Education Act
• Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
• Protection of Pupil’s Rights Act
• Freedom of Information Act
• Inspection of Public Records Act

Board Policy Cross Ref.:  K.13 Recruitment in Schools

Procedural Directive Cross Ref.:   

• Fingerprinting and Background Checks
• Visitors to Schools

Forms:

• Recruitment Requests Log
• Recruitment Visits Log
• Exemption-from-Disclosure Form English
• Exemption-from-Disclosure Form Spanish

NSBA/NEPN Classification: KLMA

Approved: December 2005
Reviewed: April 30, 2010
Revised: May 14, 2010

This page was last updated on: May 19, 2010.