Rolfes to focus on supporting military families in new post

Appointment enables Rolfes to continue shaping education policies and removing barriers for children in military families

Sept. 4, 2009

OLYMPIA – Washington State House Speaker Frank Chopp has appointed Rep. Christine Rolfes (D-Bainbridge Island) to the Washington State Coordinating Council for the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children.
 
“This issue is important for many families in Kitsap County and our school districts,” Rolfes said. “We made great progress during the last legislative session in making the school-transfer process easier for military children, and I’m excited to continue playing a role as we implement these new policies.”
 
During the 2009 legislative session, Rolfes sponsored legislation easing the school-transfer process for military children. The legislation, signed into law in May by Gov. Chris Gregoire, authorized 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.
 
“The average length of duty in one location is just two to three years, meaning military children will transfer schools several times. Trying to coordinate several different sets of records, graduation requirements, grade-level discrepancies and more can be a mess,” Rolfes said of the legislation back in March. “By joining the national standards outlined in this compact, Washington is taking a bold step toward supporting military families and their unique situation.”
 
In order to coordinate Washington’s participation in and compliance with the compact, the legislation created the Coordinating Council. It is composed of, at a minimum, two legislators, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), a superintendent of a school district with a high concentration of military families, and representatives from both a military installation and the Governor's office. OSPI has recommended to the Governor that Greg Lynch, superintendent of the Central Kitsap School District, serve as the council’s commissioner — an appointment that is pending.
 
In addition to her work on passing Senate Bill 5248, Rolfes also sponsored House Resolution 4651 during the 2009 session, recognizing and celebrating the month of April as the Month of the Military Child.
 
Nearly 30,000 military children live in Washington, the nation’s seventh-largest such population.
 
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