House Republican Press Release

April 23, 2008

Press Office: 860-240-8700

Reps Hamzy, Burns:  Measure to Help Military Children who Change Schools Succeed Passes House

Measure would Ease Adjustment of Military Children to New Schools when Parents are Reassigned Out of State

Children of military families who change schools frequently when their parents are reassigned to out-of-state bases will have an easier time adjusting to new schools and be better able to achieve educational success under a measure approved today by the state House of Representatives, state Representatives William A. Hamzy and Ron Burns said today.

The legislation (House Bill 5545), which both legislators cosponsored, was sent to the state Senate for final legislative approval.

“For military families, frequent reassignments to out-of-state bases is an inconvenience that comes with the job. For their children, it is a challenge as well. It means adjusting to new schools with different attendance requirements, course content, class scheduling, grading systems, entrance and age requirements,” said Representative Hamzy, R-78^th District.  “For all of those reasons, military children often face greater educational challenges than children from civilian families. This legislation will help ease the adjustment problems faced by children from military families when they enroll at new schools on or near their parents’ new duty stations.”

“Military families understand that their professions involve sacrifices that civilians face only rarely. One of them involves being redeployed out-of-state on a regular basis – and that is a sacrifice that is shared by their children,” said Representative Burns, R-77^th District. “For military children, their parents’ reassignment to a new base means enrolling in a new school that can be substantially different from the one they left behind in Connecticut. Some of those differences include different textbooks, teaching styles, and graduation requirements that can make it more difficult for military children to achieve educational success. The measure we approved today will help them keep up academically with their new classmates as they adjust to their new schools.”

The legislation commits Connecticut to adhere to the terms of the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children, which helps remove barriers to educational success imposed on children of military families because of their parents’ frequent moves.

The compact’s mission includes:

• Facilitating the timely enrollment of military children in new schools and ensuring that they are not placed at a disadvantage because of variations in entrance or age requirements, or difficulties in transferring education records from their previous school districts.
• Facilitating the children’s placement in new schools so they are not disadvantaged by variations in attendance requirements, scheduling, grading, course content, or assessment.
• Facilitating their qualification and eligibility for enrollment, educational programs, and participation in extracurricular academic, athletic, and social activities.
• Facilitating on-time graduation for military children who enroll in new schools.
• Promoting flexibility and cooperation between the educational systems, parents, and students to achieve educational success for the students.