State of New Mexico
House of Representatives
Ben Lujan, Speaker of the House
Ken Martinez, House Majority Leader
Sheryl Williams Stapleton, House Majority Whip

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release Contact: Victoria Chávez 646-241-5335
Feb. 11, 2010       Bailey Sachs 505-261-2419

Rep. Cote Passes Legislation for Uniform Treatment of Military Children in Schools

Santa Fe, NM – A bill that would create a Military Children Education Compact State Commission introduced by Rep. Nathan Cote (D-Las Cruces), passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 69-0. The legislation promotes a national initiative to help children of military families as they transition between schools when moving from state to state.

Rep. Cote says, “House Bill 24 is a bill for our military kids; those students of military members who enter our state’s schools when a parent is assigned to military duty in New Mexico. In some cases this may be the child’s sixth or seventh school. We currently have over 5,200 military students and this bill is for them and all their families.”

The Secretary of Defense stated his support of the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children. Through the Compact, state governments collaborate on procedures that provide more uniform treatment of military children on issues regarding:

• Class placement;
• Records transfer;
• Immunization guidelines;
• Course availability;
• On-time graduation;
• Extra-curricular activities;
• Redundant or missed entrance/exit testing;
• Kindergarten and first grade entrance age variations; and
• Power of custodial parents while parents are deployed.

To date, 27 states have enacted legislation to adopt the Compact; New Mexico would be the 28th.