Legislature passes bill to ease school-transfer process for military children

April 13, 2009

OLYMPIA – The state House of Representatives today unanimously passed a Senate bill to streamline the school-transfer process for children in military families, sending the measure to the governor’s desk for final approval.
 
Senate Bill 5248, sponsored by Sen. Steve Hobbs (D-Lake Stevens), authorizes Washington state to join the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children, the emerging national standard in reducing the burdens associated with transferring schools as often as military families do. Rep. Christine Rolfes (D-Bainbridge Island), sponsored the identical companion bill in the House, HB 1075, and spoke out on the House floor today in support of the legislation. After its passage, she remarked on its significance.
 
“Today is a great day for Washington’s military families. By joining this compact, Washington state is honoring the service and sacrifice of military families through streamlining the complicated school-transfer process,” Rolfes said.
 
She notes that the average length of duty is about two to three years, which might translate into several moves during the course of a child’s schooling career. Because of these frequent moves, military families often have trouble coordinating several different sets of records, graduation requirements, grade-level discrepancies and more, says Rolfes.
 
Since December 2007, the compact has been introduced in 32 states. Eleven states have adopted it, and others are considering it. Washington’s participation in the compact would ensure such things as easy access to educational records, continuation at the same grade level, access to similar special courses (such as honors or English as a second language) and participation in extracurricular activities.
 
The bill also creates a state council to monitor participation and compliance with the compact. The council will review the implementation process in Washington and report back to the Legislature in five years whether it recommends continued participation in the compact.
 
The bill passed the House 98-0 today, after having passed the Senate 45-0 on March 10.
 
Nearly 30,000 military children live in Washington, the nation’s seventh-largest such population.
 
More information about SB 5248 is available here.