April 2000 Â With Kids in the Know and other education groups in opposition, a federal budget amendment by Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., failed to gain support before the Senate deadline for budget changes ended earlier this month. Shelby's measure called for Senate denouncement of in-school marketing and information gathering. His proposal deemed those activities "a waste of student class time and taxpayer money," and said that federal funds shouldn't support the "commercialization of our nation's classrooms or the exploitation of student privacy."

Children's book and magazine programs, evaluations of textbooks and supplemental materials, college recruitment lists, student-recognition programs, and commercial Internet services would have been affected. The National School Boards Association had argued that local school officials don't need federal restriction to evaluate a partnership with a private organization, or to stop inappropriate activities when necessary.

Kids in the Know representatives said in a prepared statement that the amendment would have provided support for other attempts to limit relationships between private organizations and schools. Shelby has a history of criticizing these partnerships; he held hearings regarding the Channel One TV-news service last year, and is expected to introduce similar legislation on "commercialism and student privacy" in the future.