(RNS) A Quaker woman has reached an agreement with a North Carolina school board that will allow her access to local high schools to distribute information about alternatives to serving in the military.

Sally Ferrell, a member of North Carolina Peace Action, was “continually denied access to speak with students … who were being aggressively recruited by the military,” she said.

With help from the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, Ferrell reached an agreement Tuesday (Aug. 11) with Wilkes County school officials that will allow her the same access to students as military recruiters.

Ferrell said that military recruiters were “painting an awfully rosy picture of military life,” and she wanted to distribute pamphlets to explain military enlistment requirements, suggest questions to ask recruiters regarding pay and deployment procedures, and offer alternatives to military service including national and international volunteer opportunities.

Katy Parker, legal director for ACLU of North Carolina, said that Ferrell, whose late husband served in the Navy, is “not anti-military, she’s not unpatriotic. She wants kids to really think.”

Ferrell belongs to the Society of Friends, or Quakers, who cite nonviolence as a key element of their faith. Members often engage in antiwar demonstrations as a testimony of dedication to peaceful conflict resolution.

Ferrell said that although Parker holds very serious religious convictions, faith was not an issue in the legal battle. The issue, Parker said, “was only regarding the free speech clause” of the Constitution.