Solomon Amendment

The Solomon Amendment is a federal law that allows military recruiters to access some address, biographical and academic program information on students age 17 and older.

The Department of Education has determined the Solomon Amendment supersedes most elements of FERPA. An institution is therefore obligated to release data included in the list of “student recruiting infor­mation,” which may or may not match the University’s FERPA directory information list.

Colleges that fail to comply with the Solomon Amendment risk losing funds from several federal agencies, including: the Departments of Education, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Defense.

Definition – Student Recruitment/Solomon Information:

1. Student name
2. Address
3. Phone number
4. Age
5. Level of education
6. Degree program currently enrolled in
7. Degrees received for recent graduates
8. Educational institutional last enrolled in

Procedure for releasing information to military recruiter:

1. Under the Solomon amendment, information will be released for military recruitment purposes only. The military recruiters may request student recruitment information once each term or semester for each of the 12 eligible units within the five branches of the service:
   1. Army: Army, Army Reserve, Army National Guard
   2. Navy: Navy, Navy Reserve
   3. Marine Corps: Marine Corps, Marine Corps Reserve
   4. Air Force: Air Force, Air Force Reserve, Air Force National Guard
   5. Coast Guard: Coast Guard, Coast Guard Reserve
2. The request should be submitted in writing on letterhead clearly identifying the unit of service requesting the student recruitment information.
3. The request should specify whether the information needed is for the current or previous semester.
4. The student must be enrolled.
5. If the student reqeusts that their directory information be withheld under FERBA, this protection will be honored under Soloman; the student’s records will not be released. Students may reqeust this form from their home campus registrar office.

Exceptions and exemptions to request

The Solomon Amendment requires educational institutions to disclose student information in its possession, but does not actively require institutions to collect student information. As such, institutions are exempt from responding if they do not currently collect or have any responsive information.

In addition, the Solomon Amendment does recognize student and parental rights under FERPA to withhold disclosure of private information. Students and/or parents of students can request that a local educational agency withhold student information unless prior written consent is obtained from the students and/or parents.

Further Information

For more information about the Solomon Amendment, visit AACRAO: American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.