Senators' Latest Idea to Fix Military Recruiting Slump? Sharing Enlistment Data with High Schools

Public high schools would be able to access military enlistment data under a data-sharing program being proposed by a bipartisan group of senators.

Under the recently introduced Military and Educational Data Integration Act, the Defense Department would have to set up a program to allow state and local school boards to access information on the outcomes of students who enlist in the military, including the highest level of education they obtained, their scores on the Armed Forces Qualification Test and their area of expertise or military occupational speciality.

The idea is intended to better track data that could be used to help sell military service as a career opportunity amid the military's ongoing struggle to convince young people to sign up.

"The military offers a wide array of career options from combat medics, to chefs, to engineers and much more," Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, said in a statement shared with Military.com ahead of its public release. "Accurate, current and readily available information on career opportunities and outcomes will better enable state education systems to inform students of military career options post high school. This legislation will open doors for students to pursue their interests through well-paid, meaningful careers in the military."