Senate passes Hobbs bill for military kids

OLYMPIA — The Senate today passed landmark legislation to promote an interstate compact on educational opportunities for military children.

Senate Bill 6426, sponsored by Sen. Steve Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens, enters Washington into a multi-state agreement that seeks to create uniform standards on issues surrounding the areas of student enrollment, eligibility, placement, and graduation.

“Our soldiers and their families are reassigned from one state to another several times during their careers, and I’d like to help make sure that their children receive a consistent education,” said Hobbs, an Army veteran.

The Military Children Compact would become effective once ten states have adopted it, and would apply to children of active duty members of the uniformed services, including members of the National Guard and Reserve on active duty orders; members or veterans who are severely injured and medically discharged or retired for a period of one year after medical discharge or retirement; and members who die on active duty or as a result of injuries sustained on active duty for a period of one year after death.

It would require that schools share records in a timely way to expedite the proper enrollment and placement of students, and require that receiving schools initially honor placement of students in educational courses based on the sending state's enrollment and educational assessments, provided that such classes are offered, and must conduct immediate and subsequent evaluations to ensure appropriate placement in the best interest of the child's educational advancement.

SB 6426 passed the Senate on a vote of 49-0 and now proceeds to the House for consideration.

Return to Sen. Hobbs' home page