Legislative Alert - Short Fuze
Posted by Warren Enos on 15 Apr 2008 | Tagged as: California Legislative Matters
MILITARY CHILDREN DURING SCHOOL TRANSITIONS AND DEPLOYMENTS
This came to us this AM. Issue has to do with transition between states by military children. DoD supporting efforts to get all states to agree to set of rules to lessen impacts of moves on
school age children. Now asking for our help because CA legislature is going to take this up - tomorrow. Look this over - don’t know if you have heard of this issue - we haven’t talked about it from Chapters before. Perhaps it could be posted to Cal-MOAA web log and member interested
in calling in could do so. Sorry for short fuze. Thanks for considering.
Col Lee Lange II, USMC-Ret
Director, MOAA Council and Chapter Affairs
*********
Military Children During School Transitions and Deployments
Issue:
Their mobile lifestyle creates tough challenges for children who will have on average six to nine different school systems in their lives from kindergarten to twelfth grade, and more than two during high school alone. The challenges of frequent moves, often compounded by the anxiety of parental separation during deployments, challenges us to ease transition from school to school.
Outcome:
States participate in an interstate compact providing a uniform policy platform for resolving the challenges experienced by military children.
Progress:
The Department of Defense, in collaboration with the National Center for Interstate Compacts and the Council of State Governments(Lexington, KY) has developed an interstate compact that addresses the educational transition issues of children of military families. A variety of
federal, state and local officials as well as national stakeholder organizations representing education groups and military families were also included in the creation of the proposed interstate agreement. The goal of such a compact is to replace the widely varying treatment of
transitioning military students to a unified, comprehensive approach that would provide a uniform policy in every school district in every state that chooses to join the Compact. It addresses the key issues encountered by military families in four broad categories: eligibility, enrollment, placement and graduation. Promotion to, and education of, state policymakers has begun, with adoption in a minimum of 10 states expected by the fall of 2008.
Specific impacts on military children include:
*Transfer of Records
*Course Placement
*Graduation Requirements
*Exclusion from Extra-Curricular Activities
*Redundant or Missed Entrance/Exit Testing
*Kindergarten and First Grade Entrance Age Variations
*Power of Custodial Parents While Parents are Deployed
The new Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children addresses these issues, among others, as well as Compact enforcement, administration, finances, communication, data sharing, and training.
(NOTE: The Challenges for Transitioning Military Students video was made in collaboration with Military Impacted Schools Association and the Department of Defense.)
3) Two states - Kansas and Kentucky - have approved the compact that will make school transitions easier for military children — if at least eight other states sign on. The compact requires a10-state adoption to begin functioning. The Compact’s goal is to improve educational options and opportunities for the more than 1.5 million children of uniformed servicemembers who frequently cross state lines. On average, military kids attend up to nine school systems before graduating high school. Frequent moves by military members cause children to miss out on extracurricular activities and to face challenges in inconsistent coursework. States participating in the Compact would work to coordinate graduation requirements, transfer of records and course placement.
To get more details on the Interstate Compact, you can go to http://www.usa4militaryfamilies.dod.mil/portal/page/mhf/USA4/USA4_HOME_1
?current_id=22.60.30.0.0.0.0.0.0&content_id=242181 or get all the
information from
http://www.csg.org/programs/ncic/EducatingMilitaryChildrenCompact.aspx
Thank you for helping military children face the future with the educational support they deserve!
Proud to be Working for Military Families -
Joy Dunlap
Deputy Director, Government Relations
Military Family Issues
Military Officers Association of America (MOAA)
201 N. Washington Street
Alexandria, VA 22314-2539
800-234-6622, ext. 141
703-838-8141
fax - 703-838-8173
joyd@moaa.org
********
Military children currently in or moving to California will lose out if the state delays joining the Interstate Compact. And, if California doesn’t join this year, the entire Interstate Compact for Educational Opportunity for Military Children may not get going at all nationwide
this year since 10 states are needed to get the compact going.
The military community in California could really use your extra help today!
The bill on the Compact will be heard in California’s Assembly Education Committee for the first time on this Wednesday, Apr 16. The Committee is recommending that a task force be formed which is a way of delaying the vote. The compact is not an amendable item, so study of it would
only delay the vote. Unless they believe military families care about this NOW, they will delay becoming a part of the Interstate Compact.
If you believe military children should have easier transitions school to school and state to state, and you want California to be a part of that, would you please e-mail or call any or all of the folks listed below to tell them that you hope they will vote to accept the Interstate
Compact now?!
The members of the California Assembly Education Committee are:
Committee Members
District
Phone
E-mail
Gene Mullin - Chair
Dem-19
(916) 319-2019
Assemblymember.mullin@assembly.ca.gov
Martin Garrick - Vice Chair
Rep-74
(916) 319-2074
Assemblymember.Garrick@assembly.ca.gov
Julia Brownley
Dem-41
(916) 319-2041
Assemblymember.Brownley@assembly.ca.gov
Joe Coto
Dem-23
(916) 319-2023
Assemblymember.coto@assembly.ca.gov
Mike Eng
Dem-49
(916) 319-2049
Assemblymember.Eng@asm.ca.gov
Loni Hancock
Dem-14
(916) 319-2014
Assemblymember.hancock@assembly.ca.gov
Bob Huff
Rep-60
(916) 319-2060
Assemblymember.huff@assembly.ca.gov
Betty Karnette
Dem-54
(916) 319-2054
Assemblymember.Karnette@assembly.ca.gov
Alan Nakanishi
Rep-10
(916) 319-2010
Assemblymember.nakanishi@assembly.ca.gov
Jose Solorio
Dem-69
(916) 319-2069
Assemblymember.solorio@assembly.ca.gov
1) Specific details of the compact itself can be found in this resource
kit. http://www.csg.org/programs/ncic/documents/RESOURCEKIT-January2008final.pdf
2) Best one-page sheet follows: http://www.usa4militaryfamilies.dod.mil/portal/page/mhf/USA4/USA4_HOME_1
?current_id=22.60.30.0.0.0.0.0.0&content_id=242181
3 Responses to “Legislative Alert - Short Fuze”
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As noted this is an extremely short fuse. However, as we all know from having past experiences dealing with this matter in our Military Careers, it’s of immense importance for our today’s Military Families. So if you can please respond promptly to the Assembly Members with your thoughts.
Also as a measuring stick to gauge our ability to respond on very short notice please let the Cal-MOAA President Warren Enos know of your effort by using the “Contact Us” tab in the left column on the Homepage.
Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi understands that our men and women in uniform deal with challenges unique to their profession. This is also true of their families and their school age children. Changes of duty station and family moves in during the school year can disadvantage dependent students as they transfer from one school district to another. That is why he was an initial sponsor of Assembly Bill 1809, the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children and he continues to vigorously advocate for its adoption. It is the right thing to do.
Wade R. Sanders, Esq.
Senior Advisor Military and Veterans Affairs Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi
I followed up on the actions of the Assembly Education Committee and it sailed through on the 16th, 7-0.
It is now in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. Easy to track. Go to www.assembly.ca.gov_ (http://www.assembly.ca.gov) and select Committee Directory on the left side of that home page. Scroll down to Appropriations.
There are 17 members. Suggest calling the one(s) you know and also the Chair and the Staff (number on the top right).
I believe we can keep the interest up and this moving if we get the word out. Nine states must pass this to keep it of interest to Congress.
How many schools were your kids in? Our three were in 12 from kindergarten through high school.
Bill Gavitt