Law Aiding Military School Children Headed to Governor

A proposal authored by state Rep. Ann Coody to remove obstacles making it difficult for children of military parents to transfer to or from an Oklahoma public school is one signature away from becoming a law.

"Children whose parents are in the military often live in
multiple states in just a handful of years and regularly transfer from one school to the next," said Coody, R-Lawton. "Unfortunately, that creates logistical problems due to the different state standards and requirements. In some cases, it can even delay a child's graduation.

"My legislation will remove many of the artificial barriers that prevent military children from easily enrolling in an Oklahoma school."

It has been estimated that as many as 850,000 K-12 students in the United States have parents on active duty in the U.S. military.

Those children will change schools about every two to three years on average as their parents redeploy, meaning many will attend up to six
different schools during their K-12 experience.

Under Coody's legislation Oklahoma will join the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children. The purpose of the legislation is to facilitate "the timely enrollment of children of military families" and ensure that they "are not placed at a disadvantage" due to difficulty in the transfer of education records or by variations in attendance requirements, scheduling, sequencing, grading, course content or assessment.

The legislation would also make it easier for military children to qualify and participate in extracurricular activities at Oklahoma schools and graduate on time.

Coody's proposal was incorporated into Senate Bill 1951, which passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives 96-0 and now goes to the governor for his signature.

Another Coody bill would also improve school services. Senate Bill 1769, by state Sen. Susan Paddock (D-Ada) and Coody, would provide additional funds to schools for remediation efforts.

Under the bill, a school district that has 10 or fewer students participating in a summer reading remediation program could be provided another $1,500 for the program above and beyond the standard reimbursement amount.

The bill also provides additional funds to help schools provide remedial
education to students who fail state-mandated tests.

The legislation also allows third-grade students who speak English as a second language and don't read at grade level to participate in summer reading remediation programs.

"Reading is the foundation for almost all academic learning from grade school through a Ph.D.," said Coody, a former educator. "If we fail to teach our children to read, we are putting a roadblock on their path to success."

Senate Bill 1769 passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives 100-0 and now proceeds to the governor for his signature.