Source: https://vacode.org/22.1-360/
Timestamp: 2020-08-15 14:07:05
Document Index: 366269679

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 22', '§ 22', '§ 22', '§ 1209', '§ 2', '§ 22']

Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children (§ 22.1-360)—Virginia Decoded - Virginia Decoded
Next →22.1-361 Virginia Council on the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children
24 Interstate Compact On Educational Opportunity For Military Children
§ 22.1-360 Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for . . .
§ 22.1-360
Purpose. It is the purpose of this compact to remove barriers to educational success imposed on children of military families because of frequent moves and deployment of their parents by:
Definitions. As used in this compact, unless the context clearly requires a different construction:
“Active duty” means full-time duty status in the active uniformed service of the United States, including members of the National Guard and Reserve on active duty orders pursuant to 10 U.S.C. §§ 1209 and 1211.”Children of military families” means school-aged children, enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade, in the household of an active duty member.”Compact commissioner” means the voting representative of each compacting state appointed pursuant to Article VIII of this compact.”Deployment” means the period one month prior to the service members’ departure from their home station on military orders through six months after return to their home station.”Educational records” means those official records, files, and data directly related to a student and maintained by the school or local education agency, including but not limited to records encompassing all the material kept in the student’s cumulative folder such as general identifying data, records of attendance and of academic work completed, records of achievement and results of evaluative tests, health data, disciplinary status, test protocols, and individualized education programs.”Extracurricular activities” means a voluntary activity sponsored by the school or local education agency or an organization sanctioned by the local education agency. Extracurricular activities include but are not limited to preparation for and involvement in public performances, contests, athletic competitions, demonstrations, displays, and club activities.”Interstate Commission on Educational Opportunity for Military Children” means the commission that is created under Article IX of this compact, which is generally referred to as the Interstate Commission.”Local education agency” means a public authority legally constituted by the state as an administrative agency to provide control of and direction for kindergarten through 12th grade public educational institutions.”Member state” means a state that has enacted this compact.”Military installation” means a base, camp, post, station, yard, center, homeport facility for any ship, or other activity under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense, including any leased facility, which is located within any of the several states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Marianas Islands, and any other U.S. territory. Such term does not include any facility used primarily for civil works, rivers and harbors projects, or flood control projects.”Nonmember state” means a state that has not enacted this compact.”Receiving state” means the state to which a child of a military family is sent, brought, or caused to be sent or brought.”Rule” means a written statement by the Interstate Commission promulgated pursuant to Article XII of this compact that is of general applicability; implements, interprets, or prescribes a policy or provision of the compact, or an organizational, procedural, or practice requirement of the Interstate Commission and has the force and effect of statutory law in a member state if approved by the legislature of the member state.”Sending state” means the state from which a child of a military family is sent, brought, or caused to be sent or brought.”State” means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Marianas Islands, and any other U.S. territory.”Student” means the child of a military family for whom the local education agency receives public funding and who is formally enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade.”Transition” means: (i) the formal and physical process of transferring from school to school or (ii) the period of time in which a student moves from one school in the sending state to another school in the receiving state.”Uniformed services” means the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, as well as the Commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Public Health Services.”Veteran” means a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service and who was discharged or released there from under conditions other than dishonorable.
Art. Educational Records and Enrollment.
A. Unofficial or “hand-carried” education records. In the event that official education records cannot be released to the parents for the purpose of transfer, the custodian of the records in the sending state shall prepare and furnish to the parent a complete set of unofficial educational records containing uniform information as determined by the Interstate Commission. Upon receipt of the unofficial education records by a school in the receiving state, the school shall enroll and appropriately place the student based on the information provided in the unofficial records pending validation by the official records, as quickly as possible.
B. Official education records/transcripts. Simultaneous with the enrollment and conditional placement of the student, the school in the receiving state shall request the student’s official education records from the school in the sending state. Upon receipt of this request, the school in the sending state will process and furnish the official education records to the school in the receiving state within 10 days or within such time as is reasonably determined under the rules promulgated by the Interstate Commission.
Art. Placement and Attendance.
A. Course placement. When the student transfers before or during the school year, the receiving state school shall initially honor placement of the student in educational courses based on the student’s enrollment in the sending state school and/or educational assessments conducted at the school in the sending state if the courses are offered. Course placement includes, but is not limited to, honors, International Baccalaureate, advanced placement, vocational, technical, and career pathways courses. Continuing the student’s academic program from the previous school and promoting placement in academically and career challenging courses should be paramount when considering placement. This does not preclude the school in the receiving state from performing subsequent evaluations to ensure appropriate placement and continued enrollment of the student in the course(s).
Art. Eligibility.
B. Eligibility for extracurricular participation. State and local education agencies shall facilitate the opportunity for military children’s inclusion in extracurricular activities, regardless of application deadlines, to the extent they are otherwise qualified.
Graduation. In order to facilitate the on-time graduation of children of military families, states and local education agencies shall incorporate the following procedures:
Art. State Coordination.
A. Each member state shall, through the creation of a State Council or use of an existing body or board, provide for the coordination among its agencies of government, local education agencies, and military installations concerning the state’s participation in, and compliance with, this compact and Interstate Commission activities. While each member state may determine the membership of its own State Council, its membership must include at least: (i) the state superintendent of education, (ii) the superintendent of a school district with a high concentration of military children, (iii) one representative from a military installation, and (iv) one representative each from the legislative and executive branches of government, and other offices and stakeholder groups the State Council deems appropriate. A member state that does not have a school district deemed to contain a high concentration of military children may appoint a superintendent from another school district to represent local education agencies on the State Council.
C. The Governor of each member state shall appoint or designate a compact commissioner responsible for the administration and management of the state’s participation in the compact and who is empowered to establish statewide policy related to matters governed by this compact.
Interstate Commission on Educational Opportunity for Military Children. The member states hereby create the Interstate Commission on Educational Opportunity for Military Children. The activities of the Interstate Commission are the formation of public policy and are a discretionary state function. The Interstate Commission shall:
B. Consist of one Interstate Commission voting representative from each member state who shall be that state’s compact commissioner and who is empowered to establish statewide policy related to matters governed by this compact.
H. For a meeting, or portion of a meeting, closed pursuant to the provisions of subsection G, the Interstate Commission’s legal counsel or designee shall certify that the meeting may be closed and shall reference each relevant exemptible provision. The Interstate Commission shall keep minutes, which shall fully and clearly describe all matters discussed in a meeting and shall provide a full and accurate summary of actions taken, and the reasons therefore, including a description of the views expressed and the record of a roll call vote. All documents considered in connection with an action shall be identified in such minutes. All minutes and documents of a closed meeting shall remain under seal, subject to release by a majority vote of the Interstate Commission.
Powers and Duties of the Interstate Commission. The Interstate Commission shall have the following powers:
I. To elect or appoint such officers, attorneys, employees, agents, or consultants, and to fix their compensation, define their duties, and determine their qualifications and to establish the Interstate Commission’s personnel policies and programs relating to conflicts of interest, rates of compensation, and qualifications of personnel.
Art. Organization and Operation of the Interstate Commission.
B. The Interstate Commission shall, by a majority of the members, elect annually from among its members a chairperson, a vice-chairperson, and a treasurer, each of whom shall have the authority and duties as may be specified in the bylaws. The chairperson or, in the chairperson’s absence or disability, the vice-chairperson, shall preside at all meetings of the Interstate Commission. The officers so elected shall serve without compensation or remuneration from the Interstate Commission provided that, subject to the availability of budgeted funds, the officers shall be reimbursed for ordinary and necessary costs and expenses incurred by them in the performance of their responsibilities as officers of the Interstate Commission.
D. The Interstate Commission’s executive director and its employees shall be immune from suit and liability, either personally or in their official capacity, for a claim for damage to or loss of property or personal injury or other civil liability caused or arising out of or relating to an actual or alleged act, error, or omission that occurred, or that such person had a reasonable basis for believing occurred, within the scope of Interstate Commission employment, duties, or responsibilities, provided that such person shall not be protected from suit or liability for damage, loss, injury, or liability caused by the intentional or willful and wanton misconduct of such person.
1. The liability of the Interstate Commission’s executive director and employees or the Interstate Commission representatives, acting within the scope of their employment or duties for acts, errors, or omissions occurring within such person’s state, may not exceed the limits of liability set forth under the constitution and laws of that state for state officials, employees, and agents. The Interstate Commission is considered to be an instrumentality of the states for the purposes of any such action. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to protect such person from suit or liability for damage, loss, injury, or liability caused by the intentional or willful and wanton misconduct of such person.
Art. Rulemaking Functions of the Interstate Commission.
B. Rulemaking procedure. Rules shall be made pursuant to a rulemaking process that substantially conforms to the “Model State Administrative Procedure Act,” of 1981, Uniform Laws Annotated, Vol. 15, p. 1 (2000) as amended, as may be appropriate to the operations of the Interstate Commission.
Art. Oversight, Enforcement, and Dispute Resolution.
1. The executive, legislative, and judicial branches of state government in each member state shall enforce this compact and shall take all actions necessary and appropriate to effectuate the compact’s purposes and intent. The provisions of this compact and the rules promulgated hereunder shall have standing as regulations adopted under the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.);
4. Suspension or termination of membership in the compact shall be imposed only after all other means of securing compliance have been exhausted. Notice of intent to suspend or terminate shall be given by the Interstate Commission to the Governor, the majority and minority leaders of the defaulting state’s legislature, and each of the member states;
7. The defaulting state may appeal the action of the Interstate Commission by petitioning the United States District Court for the District of Columbia or the federal district where the Interstate Commission has its principal offices. The prevailing party shall be awarded all costs of such litigation including reasonable attorney’s fees.
Art. Financing of the Interstate Commission.
Art. Member States, Effective Date, and Amendment.
Art. Withdrawal and Dissolution.
Art. Severability and Construction.
Art. Binding Effect of Compact and Other Laws.
If you’re reading this for anything important, you should double-check its accuracy—read § 22.1-360 on the official Code of Virginia website.
HB1727: Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children; created, report. (passed)
HB395: Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children; established, report. (failed)
SB299: Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children, Council on; DOE liaison. (passed)