By Tim Cherry
Staff Writer
Thursday, August 18, 2011

An interstate compact has made transferring to different state schools easier for military Families.

The Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children, created in 2006, makes a consistent policy for military students transitioning from one state to another. It has been adopted by 38 states, including Virginia and Maryland. Washington D.C. has also adopted the compact.

Eligible Families are those with active-duty members of the uniformed services, National Guard and Reserve on active-duty orders, and members or veterans who are medically discharged or retired for one year.

“It’s really about flexibility for the school districts to ... allow things to help transition military kids,” said Mary Jo Chapman, Fort Belvoir’s school liaison officer.

Chapman said the compact’s four areas of focus are enrollment, placement and attendance, eligibility and graduation.

According to Chapman, kindergarten and first-grade placement were big pieces of the enrollment component, specifically in relation to Belvoir. According to the compact, incoming students can now continue school in the same grade, regardless of entrance age requirements. The child must have been enrolled in kindergarten or first grade at their previous school.

Placement and attendance gives school districts more latitude when enrolling students into courses. The component also allows more flexibility for additional excused absences for children visiting a deployed parent.

In terms of eligibility, the compact gives incoming students the chance to continue the extracurricular activity they were engaged in at their previous school, regardless of the deadline and as long as space permits.

Standardized testing was a big road block for high school students in the area, according to Chapman. She said students from other states were taking standardized tests for classes they passed in another state. Increases in testing, in conjunction with handling course requirements, were making it difficult for students to graduate on time.

Karin Williams, director of operations and strategic planning for Fairfax County Public Schools Instructional Services, said the problem stemmed from Virginia’s state requirements for testing.

Before the compact, the state would not accept scores from states that administered comprehensive tests that measured students’ skills in a wide range of subjects. With the compact in place, Virginia has altered its requirements to accept those comprehensive tests in addition to tests that are subject-specific, like Virginia’s Standards of Learning tests.

Chapman stresses the compact isn’t designed to giving any advantages.

“It’s really helpful. But, it’s not an open ticket to give military Families an advantage,” she said. “It’s just allows for that flexibility on the part of the school district to make transitions easier.”

She recommends Belvoir Families plan ahead if they know a permanent change of station may occur during the upcoming school year. She suggested that parents know the course requirements of the state to which they’re relocating.

For Families new to the area, Chapman recommends parents visit the school their children is attending and be clear of their child’s academic and extracurricular standing.

“Talk to the principal,” Chapman said, “Everyone’s school experience is a little bit different, so, it’s really important to visit your school.”

Detailed information on the interstate compact is available from www.mic3.net/.

States included in the compact are: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Washington D.C. is also on the list.