If you're a parent of a high school student in the public schools, you need to be aware of an effective military recruitment tool of the past four years: The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

What does the military have to do with public education? Not much.

But thanks to political horse-trading during the law's passage, a rider attached to the bill made a school district's federal funding contingent on the dissemination of private information on your child to the military for recruitment purposes.

Though it may seem like an efficient way to let the military know about your son or daughter, privacy advocates see it as a coercive way to get information about students from the schools.

The law essentially gives the military access to personal data upon request. And in some cases, such access has led to abuses.

But there is a way to protect your child's privacy, which is a legitimate concern. Parents or legal guardians can submit a "Non-Disclosure of Directory Information (Opt-out)" form. That prohibits the school from passing along the student's information, in varying degrees. Information can be withheld specifically from the military or from all public disclosure. The choice is yours.

But the time to decide is here. The state Department of Education has told the military that no information will be released until mid-October.

Forms are available online, through the DOE or by visiting any public high school. Taking the time to download and submit these forms is a small price to pay to protect your child's privacy.