BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Alan Lowenthal, Chair
2011-2012 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 2202
AUTHOR: Block
AMENDED: June 12, 2012
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: June 27, 2012
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Daniel Alvarez
NOTE : This bill has been amended to replace its contents
and this is the first time the bill is being heard in its
current form.
SUBJECT : Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for
Military Children:
task force.
SUMMARY
This bill extends the sunset from January 1, 2013 to
January 1, 2016, 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, 2012.
BACKGROUND
AB 343, Statutes of 2009 (Chapter 237, 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
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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with the Compact are superseded by the Compact and all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.
(Education Code � 49700 et. seq.)
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.
ANALYSIS
This bill extends the sunset from January 1, 2013 to
January 1, 2016, for provisions related to the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (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, 2012.
STAFF COMMENTS
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1) Need for the bill . 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 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, 2012. 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, 2016, in order to allow
time for adequate implementation of the Compact."
2) 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,
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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.
3) 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 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.
4) Additional time for the required reporting seems
reasonable , given that a State Commissioner and a
State Council are in their formative stages. However
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this bill provides a three-year extension for the
provision of reconvening a task force that would
provide guidance for a report that originally was
envisioned to be completed by December 1, 2012.
Therefore staff recommends amendments that would
require the report to the Legislature no later than
December 1, 2013, and sunset the provisions relating
to reporting and the reconvening of the task force to
January 1, 2014, rather than 2016.
5) This measure as it passed the Assembly required the
Legislative Analyst Office to conduct a study and make
recommendations regarding access to higher education
in underserved areas, as specified.
6) Prior legislation .
In 2009, AB 343 (Chapter 237, Saldana) 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.
SUPPORT
None on file.
OPPOSITION
None on file.