BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



           ------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 2202|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                         |
          |1020 N Street, Suite 524          |                         |
          |(916) 651-1520         Fax: (916) |                         |
          |327-4478                          |                         |
           ------------------------------------------------------------ 
           
                                         
                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 2202
          Author:   Block (D)
          Amended:  7/6/12 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE  :  8-0, 6/27/12
          AYES:  Lowenthal, Alquist, Blakeslee, Huff, Liu, Price, 
            Simitian, Vargas
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Runner, Hancock, Vacancy

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  Senate Rule 28.8

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  Not relevant


           SUBJECT  :    Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity 
          for Military
                      Children:  task force

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill extends the sunset from January 1, 
          2013 to January 1, 2014, for provisions related to the 
          Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) reconvening a 
          task force to review the impact of the Interstate Compact 
          on Educational Opportunity for Military Children on 
          California, its school districts and its pupils, as 
          specified, and issue a final report to the Legislature by 
          December 1, 2013.

           ANALYSIS  :    AB 343, Statutes of 2009 (Chapter 237, 
                                                           CONTINUED





                                                               AB 2202
                                                                Page 
          2

          Saldana) enacted the Interstate Compact on Educational 
          Opportunity for Military Children.  The Compact provides 
          for the uniform treatment of military children transferring 
          between school districts and states. Among other things, 
          the Compact is meant to address issues related to: 

          1.Records, enrollment, placement and attendance, including 
            the transfer of unofficial and official records, and 
            placement in comparable courses, programs, and the same 
            grade level regardless of age.

          2.Granting of additional excused absences to a pupil whose 
            parent has been called to or returned from active duty.

          3.Eligibility for enrollment and participation in 
            extracurricular activities, including allowing military 
            dependents to attend the same school and participation in 
            programs and extracurricular activities with the consent 
            of a non-custodial parent or other person who is caring 
            for that child (standing in loco parentis).  

          4.Graduation, including the use of best efforts to waive 
            required courses for pupils who successfully completed 
            similar coursework, and consider granting a diploma from 
            the sending school for pupils who transfer in their 
            senior year of high school.

          5.Binding effect of the Compact, whereby all member states' 
            laws conflicting with the Compact are superseded by the 
            Compact and all rules and bylaws developed by the 
            commission are binding upon member states. 

          In addition, AB 343 required the Superintendent of Public 
          instruction (SPI) to convene a task force, as specified, to 
          review and make recommendations about the Compact and 
          report to the Legislature by December 1, 2012.

          This bill extends the sunset from January 1, 2013 to 
          January 1, 2014, for provisions related to the SPI 
          reconvening a taskforce to review the impact of the 
          Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military 
          Children on California, its school districts and its 
          pupils, as specified, and issue a final report to the 
          Legislature by December 1, 2013.

                                                           CONTINUED





                                                               AB 2202
                                                                Page 
          3


           Comments
          
           The Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for 
          Military Children provides guidance as to how local school 
          districts address the transition needs of military 
          children.  With the passage of AB 343, California ratified 
          its participation in the Compact.  According to the 
          Military Interstate Compact Commission as of March 2012, 43 
          states have ratified the Compact.  Individual states are 
          free to adopt or decline to adopt any compact; states 
          ratifying compacts are bound to observe the terms of the 
          agreement until the compact is formally renounced by the 
          state.  Compact provisions take precedence over conflicting 
          state laws.  AB 343 required a prior task force to 
          reconvene to review and make recommendations regarding the 
          implementation of the compact in California, including 
          conflicts with state law, costs to schools, and any 
          unintended consequences.

          The Compact is only applicable to the children of active 
          duty members of the uniformed services, including members 
          of the National Guard and reserve on active duty orders, 
          members or veterans of the uniformed services who are 
          severely injured and medically discharged or retired for a 
          period of one year after medical discharge or retirement, 
          and members of the uniformed services who die on active 
          duty or as a result of injuries sustained on active duty 
          for a period of one year after death.

          Once ratified by a state, the provisions of the Compact 
          shall continue in force and remain binding upon each and 
          every member state; provided that a member state may 
          withdraw from the Compact by specifically repealing the 
          statute which enacted the Compact into law.

          According to the State Department of Education's task force 
          report "Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military 
          Children," the State of California hosts the third largest 
          contingent of military children in the United States. A 
          significant element of the state's economy remains related 
          to military expenditures.  In San Diego County alone, the 
          economic impact is $24.6 billion and 375,000 jobs.  The 
          number of school-aged military children statewide ages 5-18 

                                                           CONTINUED





                                                               AB 2202
                                                                Page 
          4

          is 67,300 as of 2012. 

          The approximate length of assignment to a military 
          installation, slightly different for each branch of the 
          service, is two to three years. Therefore, every year a 
          significant number of these families are transferred into 
          or arrive from another state or overseas, to fulfill 
          military obligations. Although our civilian workforce is 
          increasingly mobile, military families are unique in that 
          they do not generally choose when or where they will move 
          next in serving the nation. School transition issues that 
          result from this dynamic movement are well known. The 
          specific transition issues encountered by military school 
          children are addressed in the policy components of the 
          Compact, in an effort to ameliorate the issues and to 
          improve the military family quality of life.

           Prior Legislation
           
          AB 343 (Saldana), Chapter 237, Statutes of 2009, enacted 
          the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for 
          Military Children.  

          AB 2049 (Saldana), Chapter 589, Statutes of 2008, required 
          the Superintendent of Public Instruction to convene a task 
          force to review and make recommendations regarding the 
          compact.  The task force completed this review and released 
          recommendations, all of which were incorporated into AB 
          343. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes   
          Local:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  8/7/12)

          Department of Defense
          California State Commanders Veterans Council

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author's office, 
          the Compact has some state requirements, including 
          selection of a State Commissioner and establishing a State 
          Council.  This state coordination is necessary in order to 
          assist school districts in implementing the provisions of 
          the Compact to facilitate student transition and ensure 

                                                           CONTINUED





                                                               AB 2202
                                                                Page 
          5

          compliance.  For several reasons, these fundamental state 
          requirements have just been recently met. Some school 
          districts are unaware that the Compact even exists.  
          Existing law requires the SPI to initiate the reconvening 
          of a task force for the purposes of issuing a final report 
          of findings and conclusions on prescribed topics to the 
          Legislature no later than December 1, 2013.  The Compact 
          also has some state requirements, including naming a State 
          Commissioner and establishing a State Council.  The 
          appointment by the SPI of a State Commissioner has just 
          recently occurred, as well as the formation of a State 
          Council, and there is little to report at this time. This 
          bill would extend the effective date of provisions 
          regarding the reconvening of the task force and its duties 
          to January 1, 2014, in order to allow time for adequate 
          implementation of the Compact.


          PQ:n  8/7/12   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

                                ****  END  ****






















                                                           CONTINUED