JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.—Missouri is set to become one of seven states to join an interstate education compact designed to help military children.
The compact, which oversees the member states’ education policies for enrollment, graduation and information-sharing, is designed to make it easier and more efficient for the families of active-duty military personnel who frequently move between states.
So far, Arizona, Connecticut, Kansas and Kentucky have joined the compact. And Colorado, Florida and Missouri have passed legislation that would make them members if signed by the respective states’ governors.
But the agreement’s provisions don’t begin until 10 states or U.S. territories agree to join.
A spokeswoman for Gov. Matt Blunt said Tuesday that he plans to sign the legislation.
Education policy decisions from the panel could trump the member states’ laws but not their constitutional amendments. The compact would also have the authority to go to court to enforce its decisions.
Dalton Wright is chairman of a special state military commission studying ways that the Missouri can become more military friendly. He said there are a lot of advantages derived from having military bases in the state, and it’s important for Missouri’s school districts to work with military families.
“It creates a framework that monitors the best practices around the country,” Wright said. “It’s just a good way to track things that are going on that improve the environment for military families.”
Brent Ghan, a spokesman for the Missouri School Boards’ Association, said that school officials like the general idea but are concerned about how some provisions could be interpreted, such as one dealing with school activities.
He said, for example, it’s not clear whether students who hold an elected student council office would need to be allowed to participate in student government or be given the same office after they transfer.
Legislation joining the education compact is among several military bills Missouri lawmakers considered before wrapping up their annual session last week.
Most of the education proposals were endorsed in a 2006 report from the Missouri Military Preparedness and Enhancement Commission. The commission was created to suggest ways to help military families and helping the state win the Pentagon’s favor in deciding whether it should close and expand facilities.
The legislation includes special considerations for students who have started kindergarten or first grade in their home states but don’t meet Missouri’s standards; waives mandatory history and government courses if a student has already taken similar classes elsewhere; and makes it easier for the spouses of military personnel to get certified to teach in Missouri.
Lawmakers also approved a $50 per credit tuition cap for Missourians who enlisted in the military after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The cost for that is expected to vary among the state’s colleges. But it’s estimated to cost the four-campus University of Missouri system $2.4 million annually while Linn State Technical College reports it would lose several hundred thousand dollars.
A special sales tax for veterans’ services and an income tax exemption for veterans pensions each cleared the House but were never debated on the Senate floor.
The sales tax would have likely brought in more than $100 million for the state Veterans Commission, which oversees veterans homes, cemeteries and efforts to sign up veterans for federal benefits. The pension exemption would have expanded an existing tax break for retirement benefits and cost $17.5 million for each of the next three years.
A spokesman for the Veterans Commission said the extra money would have helped expand services but wasn’t needed to keep up what the Veterans Commission is already doing. He estimated that there are several hundred people waiting to get into a veteran home.
“Trying to pass anything that involves a tax increase during an election year, even though it’s for veterans and for a good cause, it may not be something that a legislator wants to do,” said Daniel Bell, a spokesman for the Veterans Commission.
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Education compact is HB1678
Veteran tuition is SB830
Military pension is HB1788
Veteran sales tax is HJR71
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