A new piece of legislation that recently passed in the state Assembly would help to simplify school enrollment for children in military families.
Proposed by Assemblyman Edward Braunstein, bill A.6528-A allows military families relocating to New York state to enroll their children in school prior to physically arriving in the neighborhood. The bill officially passed on May 19 in the midst of Military Appreciation Month and ahead of Memorial Day.
According to statistics from the United States Department of Defense, the average child in a military family will move between six to nine times during their time in school. Over 185,000 military children move between schools every year, causing many to miss important registration, application or extracurricular enrollment periods. The bill would allow military children to start in school at the same time as their peers, giving them a sense of normalcy.
