Ohio House backs easing military kin sschool moves

6/11/2009

COLUMBUS The Ohio House unanimously voted yesterday to make Ohio the 22nd state to ratify a compact to smooth the transfer of military children between schools in differing states and work to ensure such students graduate on time.

Most military children will attend six to nine different school systems in their lives between kindergarten and 12th grade, said the bill s sponsor, Rep. Peter Ujvagi (D., Toledo).

If the Senate concurs, Ohio would join neighbors Michigan, Indiana, and Kentucky in ratifying the compact.

The Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Families seeks to make it easier for military children to remain in their current grades when they transfer during a school year, to continue their eligibility for extracurricular activities, and to make sure course work requirements are met so that a student may graduate from his new school or, in the alternative, from the one he just left.

The compact also allows someone with a special power of attorney to fulfill a parent s responsibility with a school when the real parents are unavailable because of military service.