The general assembly hereby approves and ratifies and the governor shall enter into a compact on behalf of the state of Colorado with any of the United States or other jurisdictions legally joining therein in the form substantially as follows:
INTERSTATE COMPACT ON EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY FOR MILITARY CHILDREN ARTICLE I - 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: A. Facilitating the timely enrollment of children of military families and ensuring that they are not placed at a disadvantage due to difficulty in the transfer of education records from the previous school district(s) or variations in entrance/age requirements. B. Facilitating the student placement process through which children of military families are not disadvantaged by variations in attendance requirements, scheduling, sequencing, grading, course content or assessment. C. Facilitating the qualification and eligibility for enrollment, educational programs, and participation in extracurricular academic, athletic, and social activities. D. Facilitating the on-time graduation of children of military families. E. Providing for the promulgation and enforcement of administrative rules implementing the provisions of this compact. F. Providing for the uniform collection and sharing of information between and among member states, schools and military families under this compact. G. Promoting coordination between this compact and other compacts affecting military children. H. Promoting flexibility and cooperation between the educational system, parents and the student in order to achieve educational success for the student.
As used in this compact, unless the context clearly requires a different construction: A. "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. Section 1209 and 1211. B. "Children of military families" means: a school-aged child(ren), enrolled in Kindergarten through Twelfth (12th) grade, in the household of an active duty member. C. "Compact commissioner" means: the voting representative of each compacting state appointed pursuant to Article VIII of this compact. D. "Deployment" means: the period one (1) month prior to the service members' departure from their home station on military orders through six (6) months after return to their home station. E. "Education(al) 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. F. "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. G. "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 Interstate Commission. H. "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 Twelfth (12th) grade public educational institutions. I. "Member state" means: a state that has enacted this compact. J. "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. K. "Non-member state" means: a state that has not enacted this compact. L. "Receiving state" means: the state to which a child of a military family is sent, brought, or caused to be sent or brought. M. "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, and includes the amendment, repeal, or suspension of an existing rule. N. "Sending state" means: the state from which a child of a military family is sent, brought, or caused to be sent or brought. O. "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. P. "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 Twelfth (12th) grade. Q. "Transition" means: 1) the formal and physical process of transferring from school to school or 2) the period of time in which a student moves from one school in the sending state to another school in the receiving state. R. "Uniformed service(s)" 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. S. "Veteran" means: a person who served in the uniformed services and who was discharged or released from there under conditions other than dishonorable.
In order to facilitate the on-time graduation of children of military families states and local education agencies shall incorporate the following procedures: A. Waiver requirements - Local education agency administrative officials shall waive specific courses required for graduation if similar course work has been satisfactorily completed in another local education agency or shall provide reasonable justification for denial. Should a waiver not be granted to a student who would qualify to graduate from the sending school, the local education agency shall provide an alternative means of acquiring required coursework so that graduation may occur on time. B. Exit exams - States shall accept: 1) exit or end-of-course exams required for graduation from the sending state; or 2) national norm-referenced achievement tests or 3) alternative testing, in lieu of testing requirements for graduation in the receiving state. In the event the above alternatives cannot be accommodated by the receiving state for a student transferring in his or her Senior year, then the provisions of Article VII, Section C shall apply. C. Transfers during Senior year - Should a military student transferring at the beginning or during his or her Senior year be ineligible to graduate from the receiving local education agency after all alternatives have been considered, the sending and receiving local education agencies shall ensure the receipt of a diploma from the sending local education agency, if the student meets the graduation requirements of the sending local education agency. In the event that one of the states in question is not a member of this compact, the member state shall use best efforts to facilitate the on-time graduation of the student in accordance with Sections A and B of this Article.
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: A. Be a body corporate and joint agency of the member states and shall have all the responsibilities, powers and duties set forth herein, and such additional powers as may be conferred upon it by a subsequent concurrent action of the respective legislatures of the member states in accordance with the terms of this compact. B. Consist of one Interstate Commission voting representative from each member state who shall be that state's compact commissioner. 1. Each member state represented at a meeting of the Interstate Commission is entitled to one vote. 2. A majority of the total member states shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, unless a larger quorum is required by the bylaws of the Interstate Commission. 3. A representative shall not delegate a vote to another member state. In the event the compact commissioner is unable to attend a meeting of the Interstate Commission, the Governor or State Council may delegate voting authority to another person from their state for a specified meeting. 4. The bylaws may provide for meetings of the Interstate Commission to be conducted by telecommunication or electronic communication. C. Consist of ex-officio, non-voting representatives who are members of interested organizations. Such ex-officio members, as defined in the bylaws, may include but not be limited to, members of the representative organizations of military family advocates, local education agency officials, parent and teacher groups, the U.S. Department of Defense, the Education Commission of the States, the Interstate Agreement on the Qualification of Educational Personnel and other interstate compacts affecting the education of children of military members. D. Meet at least once each calendar year. The chairperson may call additional meetings and, upon the request of a simple majority of the member states, shall call additional meetings. E. Establish an executive committee, whose members shall include the officers of the Interstate Commission and such other members of the Interstate Commission as determined by the bylaws. Members of the executive committee shall serve a one year term. Members of the executive committee shall be entitled to one vote each. The executive committee shall have the power to act on behalf of the Interstate Commission, with the exception of rulemaking, during periods when the Interstate Commission is not in session. The executive committee shall oversee the day-to-day activities of the administration of the compact including enforcement and compliance with the provisions of the compact, its bylaws and rules, and other such duties as deemed necessary. The U.S. Dept. of Defense, shall serve as an ex-officio, nonvoting member of the executive committee. F. Establish bylaws and rules that provide for conditions and procedures under which the Interstate Commission shall make its information and official records available to the public for inspection or copying. The Interstate Commission may exempt from disclosure information or official records to the extent they would adversely affect personal privacy rights or proprietary interests. G. Give public notice of all meetings and all meetings shall be open to the public, except as set forth in the rules or as otherwise provided in the compact. The Interstate Commission and its committees may close a meeting, or portion thereof, where it determines by two-thirds vote that an open meeting would be likely to: 1. Relate solely to the Interstate Commission's internal personnel practices and procedures; 2. Disclose matters specifically exempted from disclosure by federal and state statute; 3. Disclose trade secrets or commercial or financial information which is privileged or confidential; 4. Involve accusing a person of a crime, or formally censuring a person; 5. Disclose information of a personal nature where disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; 6. Disclose investigative records compiled for law enforcement purposes; or 7. Specifically relate to the Interstate Commission's participation in a civil action or other legal proceeding. H. Shall cause its legal counsel or designee to certify that a meeting may be closed and shall reference each relevant exemptible provision for any meeting, or portion of a meeting, which is closed pursuant to this 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. I. Shall collect standardized data concerning the educational transition of the children of military families under this compact as directed through its rules which shall specify the data to be collected, the means of collection and data exchange and reporting requirements. Such methods of data collection, exchange and reporting shall, in so far as is reasonably possible, conform to current technology and coordinate its information functions with the appropriate custodian of records as identified in the bylaws and rules. J. Shall create a process that permits military officials, education officials and parents to inform the Interstate Commission if and when there are alleged violations of the compact or its rules or when issues subject to the jurisdiction of the compact or its rules are not addressed by the state or local education agency. This section shall not be construed to create a private right of action against the Interstate Commission or any member state.
The Interstate Commission shall have the following powers: A. To provide for dispute resolution among member states. B. To promulgate rules and take all necessary actions to effect the goals, purposes and obligations as enumerated in this compact. The rules shall have the force and effect of statutory law and shall be binding in the compact states to the extent and in the manner provided in this compact. C. To issue, upon request of a member state, advisory opinions concerning the meaning or interpretation of the interstate compact, its bylaws, rules and actions. D. To enforce compliance with the compact provisions, the rules promulgated by the Interstate Commission, and the bylaws, using all necessary and proper means, including but not limited to the use of judicial process. E. To establish and maintain offices which shall be located within one or more of the member states. F. To purchase and maintain insurance and bonds. G. To borrow, accept, hire or contract for services of personnel. H. To establish and appoint committees including, but not limited to, an executive committee as required by Article IX, Section E, which shall have the power to act on behalf of the Interstate Commission in carrying out its powers and duties hereunder. 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. J. To accept any and all donations and grants of money, equipment, supplies, materials, and services, and to receive, utilize, and dispose of it. K. To lease, purchase, accept contributions or donations of, or otherwise to own, hold, improve or use any property, real, personal, or mixed. L. To sell, convey, mortgage, pledge, lease, exchange, abandon, or otherwise dispose of any property, real, personal or mixed. M. To establish a budget and make expenditures. N. To adopt a seal and bylaws governing the management and operation of the Interstate Commission. O. To report annually to the legislatures, governors, judiciary, and state councils of the member states concerning the activities of the Interstate Commission during the preceding year. Such reports shall also include any recommendations that may have been adopted by the Interstate Commission. P. To coordinate education, training and public awareness regarding the compact, its implementation and operation for officials and parents involved in such activity. Q. To establish uniform standards for the reporting, collecting and exchanging of data. R. To maintain corporate books and records in accordance with the bylaws. S. To perform such functions as may be necessary or appropriate to achieve the purposes of this compact. T. To provide for the uniform collection and sharing of information between and among member states, schools and military families under this compact.
Source: L. 2008: Entire part added, p. 2277, § 2, effective August 5.