Bill aims to help kids in military families

The bill aims to set up more uniform school requirements in different states.

GREENVILLE, Pa. — Senator Bob Robbins is reintroducing legislation to help students of military families cope with the frequent and stressful relocations associated with active duty service.

Senate Bill 213, Senator Robbins’ Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children legislation, authorizes Pennsylvania to enter into the Interstate Compact as a way to make education more accessible to children of military families and make school transfers and transitions more uniform and less stressful.

SB 213 was introduced with strong bipartisan support (26 cosponsors) and was referred to the Senate Education Committee for consideration.

“The average student of a military family faces transition challenges more than twice during high school and most military children will attend six to nine different school systems from kindergarten through graduation,” said Robbins, R of Greenville.

“Specifically, the Interstate Compact provides a comprehensive policy approach and mechanism to address the major areas of education that are affected such as the transferring of education records, course sequencing, graduation requirements, extra-curricular activities testing, enrollment and power of custodial parents and guardianships during deployments.”

The Compact was developed and drafted by the Council of State Governments with the U.S. Department of Defense Office or Personnel and Readiness. Currently, 11 states have already passed similar legislation: Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina and Oklahoma.