When were student draft deferments first introduced for the U.S. Selective Service and why?

1. Origins: students moved out of occupational deferments after WWII

After the Selective Service Act and regulations following World War II, students had initially been treated within broader occupational deferment categories (Class 2‑A) but the system was changed in 1951 to create a distinct student classification, Class 2‑S, reflecting the growing policy choice to treat full‑time students differently from other workers ^[1].

2. Why a separate student category was introduced: administrative and social reasons

The 1951 establishment of Class 2‑S responded to administrative needs and social expectations: Selective Service rules already provided occupational and agricultural deferments (Class 2‑A and 2‑C) and lawmakers and administrators created a specific student class to standardize treatment of full‑time students and apprentices—separating academic progress claims from other “occupational” claims ^[1].

3. Expansion and controversy through the 1950s–1960s

During the 1950s and into the 1960s, the student deferment functionally permitted full‑time undergraduates (and earlier, in some cases, graduate students) to delay induction while enrolled, and that practice became politically sensitive as U.S. involvement in Vietnam increased; critics argued deferments advantaged those with access to higher education and skewed who served ^{[3] [4]}.

4. Legal and policy reforms in the late 1960s and early 1970s

The Military Selective Service Act of 1967 rationalized many deferments but left undergraduate deferments intact; rising criticism prompted further change: the 1969 lottery reformed selection and, amid continued concern about inequity, Congress and the Selective Service moved to curtail student deferments—Class 2‑S was abolished in 1971 and no new broad student deferments were granted thereafter, except limited ministerial/ divinity student status placed into 2‑D ^{[1] [5] [2]}.

5. How deferments worked in practice before they were phased out

Before the 1971 changes, a full‑time student could be deferred for the duration of enrollment and, in some periods, effectively until he aged out of draft eligibility; after reforms, deferments became more limited—postponements typically ran only to the end of a semester under contemporary rules, not open‑ended protection ^{[6] [7]}.

6. The political drivers: equity, protest, and the Vietnam War

The phase‑out of student deferments must be read against the political backdrop of the Vietnam War and anti‑war protest. Public perception that deferments disproportionately benefited wealthier or better‑connected men fed reforms intended to make selection fairer and less subject to local board discretion ^{[2] [4]}. Lyndon Johnson’s 1966 commission and subsequent legislation sought to reduce subjective local decisions even while retaining some student protections until later reforms ^[4].

7. Remaining exceptions and modern posture

Although broad student deferments were abolished in 1971, the Selective Service still recognizes certain ministerial/student-of-ministry classifications (2‑D) and provides for postponements in the event of a draft; current Selective Service guidance limits routine student postponements to the end of a semester rather than indefinite delay ^{[1] [7] [6]}.

8. Limitations in the available reporting

Available sources here document the creation of Class 2‑S in 1951, the abolition of that class in 1971, and the political context of Vietnam‑era reforms ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}. They do not provide detailed legislative text explaining every rationale behind the 1951 decision nor contemporary debates from that specific year; for the 1951 legislative record or archival debates, available sources do not mention those primary documents (not found in current reporting).

Sources cited: Selective Service System materials and reports ^{[7] [1] [2] [6]}, historical summaries and secondary histories ^{[3] [4]}, and background on later rule changes ^[5].