Subject:
GAO Report Shows Most Kids Not Protected from Ads in Schools
Date:
Sat, 16 Sep 2000 01:15:36 -0500 (CDT)
From:
Gary Ruskin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Organization:
http://www.essential.org/alert/
To:
undisclosed-recipients:;
Commercial Alert September 14, 2000
The US Government Accounting Office released a report today on
"Commercial Activities in Schools." It is available at
<http://www.gao.gov/new.items/he00156.pdf> Our statement is below.
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: For More Information Contact:
Thursday, September 14, 2000 Gary Ruskin (202) 296-2787
GAO Report Shows Most Kids Not Protected from Ads in Schools
A U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) report released today shows that
few states or local school boards make any real effort to protect
students from the drastic increase in commercial advertising in the
public schools. In response, Commercial Alert demanded action to stem
this tide and to give parents and children more power to fight it.
The GAO report, titled "Commercial Activities in Schools," found that
"In-school marketing has become a growing industry. Some marketing
professionals are increasingly targeting children in school, companies
are becoming known for their success in negotiating contracts between
school districts and beverage companies, and both educators and
corporate managers are attending conferences to learn how to increase
revenue from in-school marketing for their schools and companies."
The report found that only "19 states currently have statutes or
regulations that address school-related commercial activities, but in 14
of these states, statutes and regulations are not comprehensive..."
"Parents beware: public schools are permitting commercial advertisers
to have free access to children, and do little to prevent it," said Gary
Ruskin, Director of Commercial Alert. "Many public schools even show ads
to promote violent entertainment, junk food, video games, and other
products parents may not want their children to have."
This year, broad coalitions of progressive and conservative
organizations, educators and scholars urged schools to get rid of
Channel One, a marketing company that has enlisted schools to compel
about eight million children to watch two minutes of ads each school
day. A similar coalition has challenged the ZapMe! Corp for its efforts
to turn school computers into ad-delivery systems which extract
information from unsuspecting children for market research purposes. A
coalition of progressive and conservative organizations and health
professionals recently called attention to the way many public schools
aggressively market high-calorie junk food, even as childhood obesity is
skyrocketing.
"While marketers have tried to turn the public classrooms into
free-fire zones for corporate advertising, few states and school boards
have protected vulnerable schoolchildren from these commercial
invasions," Ruskin said. "Most states and local school boards haven't
done their job. It is time for Congress to step in."
Commercial Alert opposes the use of the compulsory school laws to
deliver a captive audience of schoolchildren to corporate advertisers.
Commercial Alert supports state legislation and local policies to
prohibit schools from contractually obligating students to watch
commercial advertising during school time. It also supports federal
legislation to make such prohibitions, as a condition of receiving
federal education funds.
Given the desperate lack of funds in many public schools, Congress
"ought to spend some of the budget surplus on the public schools, so
that children won't have to attend schools that are multiplexes of
commercialism," Ruskin said. "A little extra money could reduce the
temptation for the schools to sell their kids to advertisers."
Commercial Alert works to restrain the excesses of commercialism,
advertising and marketing. Commercial Alert's web address is
<http://www.essential.org/alert/>.
The GAO report is number GAO/HEHS-00-156. It was requested by Rep.
George Miller and Sen. Christopher Dodd. It is available at
<http://www.gao.gov/new.items/he00156.pdf>.
-30-
<--------release ends here---------->
Following is Rep. George Miller's news release on the GAO report.
NEWS FROM REPRESENTATIVE GEORGE MILLLER (D-CA)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, September 14, 2000
CONTACT: Daniel Weiss, 202/225-2095
FIRST EVER CONGRESSIONAL STUDY OF COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES
IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS FINDS ADVERTISING AND OTHER
CONTRACTS ON THE RISE, SCHOOL POLICIES UNEVEN
WASHINGTON - Advertising on school buses and in classrooms, exclusive
soda contracts, Channel 1, and other forms of commercial activities are
widespread and increasing in public schools, yet policies governing
these practices are incomplete or nonexistent, according to a government
report released today.
The General Accounting Office (GAO) report requested by two Members of
Congress is the first comprehensive congressional investigation of
commercial activities in the classroom, a rapidly growing trend that can
reduce instructional time and pose risks to student learning and
privacy. The trend also raises larger questions about the role and
influence private parties should have on public education.
"This report indicates that many schools and parents are not prepared
for the onslaught of marketers trying to reach the lucrative youth
market through the classroom," said Congressman George Miller (D-CA),
who requested the report along with Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT).
"Parents, school officials and policy makers should take a close look at
school policies on commercialism and make informed decisions about what
they want children exposed to at school. If schools are going to
encourage students to drink soda at 9:00 in the morning, for example,
parents might want to be made aware of that fact," Miller said.
"What is becoming clear is that companies are seeking to exploit the
educational platform of our schools to launch the sale of their
products," Miller added. "This week's FTC report on entertainment
targeted to kids, for example, noted that records and movies with
inappropriate explicit lyrics were promoted in school settings with no
indication that parents were aware of it. Ultimately, commercialism in
schools is yet another way in which the parent-child relationship is
interfered with by corporate interests."
The GAO report analyzed commercialism laws in all 50 states and in seven
school districts in California, Michigan and New Mexico. The GAO found
that policies are uneven and inadequate. According to the GAO, "laws
and regulations governing commercial activities in public schools are
not comprehensive" and sometimes "lacked formal guidance."
The GAO reported that only "19 states currently have statutes or
regulations that address school-related commercial activities."
Further, state policies are often limited in scope and vary widely. For
example, Michigan laws do not address commercial activities at all,
while New Mexico's only law on the subject expressly permits advertising
in and on school buses. In contrast, GAO found that five states -
California, New York, Florida, Illinois, and Maine - had comprehensive
policies, meaning they authorized or restricted three or more types of
commercial activities. New York law generally prohibits commercial
activities on school premises and California law requires school boards
to conduct open public hearings before approving many types of
commercial contracts. Laws in Florida, and Maine expressly permit
districts or superintendents to enter into various commercial
agreements.
GAO found that local policies also varied widely, leading many decisions
to be made on an ad hoc basis. In addition, the GAO raised concerns
that school district policies have not yet adapted to changes in
commercial technologies, noting that "none are targeted towards newer
forms of media-based advertising, such as those delivered by Channel One
and ZapMe!"
"We recognize and deplore the financial constraints most American
schools face today," added Miller, a senior member of the House
Education and the Workforce Committee. "But it would be a mistake to
suggest that commercial contracts can make up the whole difference
without having additional ramifications. Children are distracted enough
as it is without being further enticed by computer pop-up ads for jeans
and sneakers, or campus
billboards boasting soft drinks and candy.
Miller and Dodd requested the report after learning of numerous examples
of commercialism in schools:
* A Colorado school district administrator sent a letter urging
principals to allow students virtually unlimited access to Coke machines
and to consider allowing drinks in classrooms to increase sales and
therefore profits for the school.
* A student in Georgia was suspended for wearing a Pepsi shirt on
school-sponsored "Coke Day."
* The roof of a Texas school is painted with the Dr. Pepper logo to be
seen by passing planes.
* Classroom material sponsored by Exxon teaches how the Valdez spill was
a great example of environmental protection.
* School buses in a Colorado district are covered with Old Navy and 7-Up
logos.
* A Math textbook teaches students about fractions by having them
calculate how many kids prefer the Sony Play Station to Sega Saturn.
* Channel One provides 2 minutes of commercial advertising to 40 percent
of middle and high school children every day.
"We plan to look closely at the issues raised by the GAO report and the
response of state and local governments to ensure that learning, not
commerce, remains the priority in school," Miller said. "If there is a
reasonable balance that can be achieved we need to know what that is.
Right now, it is clear that commercialism is increasing without much
knowledge of its breadth or impact on our schools."
Earlier this Congress, Miller and Dodd introduced legislation to protect
student privacy from market researchers. Their bill, the Student
Privacy Protection Act, would require parents' permission before
children can participate in commercial market research in school, such
as cereal tasting, monitoring web browsing habits, or opinion surveys.
None of the districts visited by GAO have polices that specifically
address market research.
"The GAO's findings demonstrate the need for Congress to pass our
student privacy bill," Miller said.
The GAO report is available on Miller's website at
www.house.gov/georgemiller/, under "What's New."
###
<-------release ends here-------->
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
See Commercial Alert's website at <http:www.essential.org/alert>.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP:
* Tell your local school board members, state legislators and Members of
Congress to adopt strong policies to protect children from commercial
advertising and market research in the public schools, and to oppose the
use of the compulsory school laws to deliver a captive audience of
schoolchildren to corporate advertisers and market researchers.
Commercial Alert's materials are distributed electronically via the
commercial-alert mailing list <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. To
subscribe to the commercial-alert mailing list, go to
<http://lists.essential.org/mailman/listinfo/commercial-alert> or send
the word "subscribe" to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>.
PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY
--
---------------------------------------------------------------
Gary Ruskin | Commercial Alert
1611 Connecticut Ave. NW Suite #3A | Washington, DC 20009
Phone: (202) 296-2787 | Fax (202) 833-2406
http://www.essential.org/alert/ | mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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