The news: Congress passed new rules on the high school military training program.
The U.S. military program that provides leadership and civic values training to students at thousands of high schools across the country will have more oversight thanks to new legislation passed by Congress this week. The changes came after allegations of sexual abuse by instructors and cases of schools requiring students to enroll in the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, also known as JROTC.
Background: JROTC programs have operated with little oversight.
The program has grown over the last century and now serves half a million students each year, teaching teens military history, leadership, life skills and marksmanship. The programs are offered in public high schools, with retired officers or military-vetted noncommissioned officers serving as instructors.
The New York Times reported in 2022 that at least 33 JROTC instructors had been criminally accused of sexual misconduct involving students over a five-year period, and uncovered other cases that had not resulted in charges or disciplinary action. The investigation showed that instructors had exploited their role as mentors to manipulate and abuse students. Instructors often operated with little supervision, working on the fringes of school campuses and without the direct supervision of military supervisors.
Some high schools automatically enrolled students in JROTC, keeping them there even when they objected to classes. At some high schools, in places like Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Oklahoma City and Mobile, Alabama, more than 75 percent of students in a single grade were enrolled.
Military leaders have viewed JROTC as a valuable recruiting tool, as students who participate in the program are more likely to enlist.
What happens next: The legislation requires more Pentagon oversight.
The legislation, part of a military spending bill expected to be signed by President Biden, requires schools to notify the military within 48 hours of any allegations of misconduct and inform students how report sexual misconduct. The Defense Department will be required to produce an annual report on such allegations and what was done to investigate them. The Pentagon must also conduct periodic inspections of JROTC units.
The legislation requires participating schools to have a process to ensure that students who enroll do so voluntarily.
