Relates to educational opportunities for military children; in-state tuition at colleges and universities

This bill would assist military families who must relocate to New York as a result of their change of duty station, assist veterans who are transitioning back into civilian life, and recognize the sacrifices of servicemembers who have served their country.

Summary of Provisions:

Section 1 of the bill sets forth Parts A through D:

Part A would enact the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunities for Military Children. It would provide uniform treatment of military children transferring between school districts and states by amending the Education Law to:

*#make available a transferring child's school transcript and immunization records required by the new school;

*#facilitate the on-time graduation of the child by allowing school districts to adjust receiving state-specific course requirements and provide alternative means of completing required coursework, or enable the child to graduate with a diploma from the child's sending state;

*#provide that (1) the custodian of a military child with a properly executed power of attorney may enroll a child, (2) no local tuition may be charged to a transitioning military child whose military parent lives outside of the receiving school district, and (3) a military child may continue, after the military parent has transferred out of the school district, to attend the school in which he/she was enrolled while the military parent was a resident of the school district; and

*#delineate the powers and structure of the Interstate Commission on Educational Opportunity for Military Children.

Part B of this bill would amend the Education Law to allow veterans attending a community college, college, or university of the State University of New York or the City University of New York under the federal GI bills to qualify for the in-state tuition rate.

Part C would allow the family of servicemembers from New York who were wounded in combat but died from their wounds outside the combat zone to qualify for the supplemental burial allowance. The section also makes a nonresident eligible for the burial allowance if the decedent was a member of the New York Army or Air National Guard at the time he or she entered federal active duty status. It also makes technical changes to the law.

Part D would create a new section 442-g of the Real Property Law and amend sections 406 and 435 of the General Business Law to allow the Department of State to recognize an out-of-state license issued to a member of the household of a member of the armed forces as a basis for granting a New York State license to practice as a real estate broker or a real estate salesperson, and to practice certain other occupations or professions for which licenses are issued by the Department of State.

Section 2 provides a severability clause.

Section 3 provides the effective date.

Existing Law:

This bill would create new sections of the Education Law and the Real Property Law. This bill also amends existing provisions of the Education Law regarding in-state tuition and the General Business Law regarding barber and esthetics, natural hair styling, nail specialty and cosmetology licensing. Additionally, this bill would amend Section 354-b of the Executive Law that provides a supplemental burial allowance to cover funeral and burial costs for members of the Armed Forces of the United States who die in a combat zone or die as a result of wounds received in combat. The allowance offsets the family's burial and funeral costs not covered by the federal government.

Justification:

New Yorkers have long fought for liberty and justice. It was the heroic efforts of troops at the Battle of Saratoga that helped change the course of the Revolutionary War. During the Civil War, New York sent the most men and money to support the Union despite being far from the battlefield. In World War I, over 500,000 New Yorkers were in military service, the largest contingent from any state. More than 800,000 New Yorkers served in World War II and seven of them received the Medal of Honor. Currently, the 10th Mountain Division is serving in Afghanistan and 450 members of the New York Army National Guard are serving in Kuwait. Here at home, the men and women of the New York Army and Air National Guard have repeatedly helped New Yorkers during emergencies, including during 9/11 and Superstorm Sandy. Military families sacrifice for their country as well. Despite constant transition, military families are the bedrock of their communities. They also face unique challenges. This bill would assist military families and recognize the contributions servicemembers have made to New York.

Part A: The average child in an active duty military family faces transition challenges more than twice during high school. Most

military children, as a result of one or both of their parents relocating during a 20 to 30 year military career from one installation to another, will attend six to nine different school systems in their lives from kindergarten to 12th grade. The compact therefore seeks to make transition easier for the children of military families so that they are afforded the same opportunities for educational success as other children, and are not penalized or delayed in achieving their educational goals. The compact was developed by the Council of State Governments' National Center for Interstate Compacts, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), national associations, federal and state officials, departments of education, school administrators and military families. Nearly 12,000 military children attending public schools near Fort Drum in Watertown, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn would benefit from the enactment of the compact.

Part B: 70 years ago this June, President and former New York Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the GI Bill. The GI Bill helped create a new middle class in America. It funded the education of fourteen future Nobel laureates, two dozen Pulitzer Prize winners, three Supreme Court justices, and three presidents of the United States. This Part would further the goals of the GI Bill. It would allow veterans attending a community college, college, or university of the State University of New York or the City University of New York under the federal GI Bills to qualify for the in-state tuition rate.

Part C: Servicemembers who die in combat make the ultimate sacrifice. New York provides supplemental burial allowance payments to families of servicemembers who die in combat but denies such payments for servicemembers who are wounded in combat but die from their wounds outside the combat zone. For instance, family members of an individual who was shot by the enemy in Iraq or Afghanistan, but who died of the wounds at a hospital outside the combat zone, are ineligible for funeral and burial assistance under the existing State statute. The proposed revisions would rectify this significant gap in the law. Families apply first to the federal government for funeral and burial assistance (10 U.S.C. § 1482, 38 U.S.C. § 2302-2307). They can then apply to the State to cover their remaining costs. Some nonresidents serve in the New York Army or Air National Guard before entering federal active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States. For such servicemembers who die as a result of combat, this bill would make their families eligible for the burial allowance to the extent that the federal government and their home state do not fully reimburse the costs.

Part D: Members of the household of servicemembers face unique challenges. New York is committed to ensuring that these individuals are provided with employment opportunities to ease the burdens of relocation associated with changes of duty station. This bill would allow the spouse, domestic partner, or other member of the household of a servicemember to practice as a real estate broker or a real estate salesperson or obtain a barber or esthetics, cosmetology, natural hair styling and nail specialty license, if he or she has been licensed in another state and relocated to New York with the servicemember.

Legislative History:

This is a new bill.

Budget Implications:

This bill would be funded out of existing state resources.

Effective Date:

Parts A and B would take effect immediately, Part C would take effect 180 days after it becomes law, and Part D would take effect 60 days after it becomes law.