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: Bailey Sachs 505-261-2419
Feb. 18, 2010                                                                                   

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

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 Senate by unanimous vote Tuesday evening. 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, “This bill took two years to pass, but it has now been done with the support of all our military commanders in New Mexico, the Secretary of the Army, and Department of Defense Secretary Gates. House Bill 24 is a quality of life issue and benefits our military families. We will now be in a compact with 27 other states to ease the transition of military children in New Mexico schools..”

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.

HB 24 was the number one priority for the NM Legislature by military families this year.