School district board member suggests students and parents be given the opportunity to remove names from directory.
By Carolanne Sudderth/Special to The Malibu Times
The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District learned Thursday night that in order to comply with the federal “No Child Left Behind” program, student records must be made available to the United States military.
The student directory includes name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, major field of study, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of athletic team members, dates of attendance, degrees and awards received, and most recent previous school attended.
In 1998, the board approved SMMUSD Board Policy 5125.1, which authorized the superintendent to release this information to “news media, prospective employers or nonprofit organizations (including school alumni organizations) as provided by law. However, the final clause specified that “Military services representatives shall not have access to directory information.”
At Thursday’s meeting, Superintendent John Deasy told the school board that clause must be removed to bring SMMUSD policy into compliance with the federal initiative championed by President George W. Bush.
Student Board member Bryce Maddock said that he has received several recruitment phone calls from military personnel. He suggested that students be made aware of the directory and given the option to remove their names – perhaps during registration.
Deasy wasn’t sure what rights students-or their parents-had to restrict or expunge such information. He said he believed inclusion was automatic and that removal would take an active effort on the part of the individual, but agreed to report back on means of removing individuals’ names from the list.
District’s only alternative school may go charter
In other business, the district began looking at the possibility of incorporating charter schools into its system. Although the prospect would probably not concern Malibu locations immediately, the district alternative school SMASH has been investigating the possibility of becoming one for some months, Deasy said.
Managed by outside organizations, educators are free to start from scratch, making up their own rules, which may or may not align with those in place in the rest of the district.
Arguments in favor of a SMASH charter include a looser pedagogy and the freedom to develop independent curricula and fiduciary advantages, Deasy said. He assured the board that instructors would be certificated and would probably be required to join the Santa Monica-Malibu Classroom Teachers Association, but even this would
be subject to the whim of the governing body.
Deasy said in support of the change, “We can learn by watching very small, flexible schools, which is why you would find me supportive of the idea of making SMASH a charter school.”
Perhaps most importantly, a charter school would be eligible for specific grants that otherwise have to be split throughout the cash-strapped district. Current district policy mandates that financial gifts from parents must be spread throughout the district to ensure that all SMMUSD students receive equal opportunities-a policy that left Malibuites bristling. Donations meant to benefit one of three Malibu elementary schools were shared with eight counterparts in Santa Monica as well, considerably reducing their effectiveness at the target institution.
However, he acknowledged that not all charters are successful and that they are only a small part of the public school system.
Resident Kevin Tamm, the sole public speaker, urged board members “not to buy a ticket on this Titanic of an idea.”
Tamm’s two children currently attend SMASH. “Privatizing schools is to follow a rightist agenda,” he said. “Willingly or unwillingly, if you are for private schools, you cannot be for public schools. I’d love to have my children continue to be educated at SMASH, but not as a charter school.”