Fix Incorrect Citation Compact Military Children

HOUSE BILL 26-1294

BY REPRESENTATIVE(S) Espenoza and Luck, Bacon, Boesenecker, Duran, Hamrick, Keltie, Phillips; also SENATOR(S) Ball and Exum, Coleman.

CONCERNING THE CORRECTION OF A CITATION WITHIN THE DEFINITION OF "ACTIVE DUTY" FOR PURPOSES OF THE "INTERSTATE COMPACT ON EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY FOR MILITARY CHILDREN".

Be it enacted by the General Assembly ofthe State of Colorado: SECTION 1. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 24-60-3402, amend Articles II and III as follows: 24-60-3402. Compact approved and ratified. 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

Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material added to existing law; dashes through words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law and such material is not part of the act.

ARTICLE II - DEFINITIONS As used in this compact, unless the context clearly reqmres 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 IO U.S.C. Section CHAPTERS 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. Ten-itory. 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. 0. "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. Ten-itory. 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. ARTICLE III - APPLICABILITY A. Except as otherwise provided in Section C, this compact shall apply to the children of: 1. active duty members of the uniformed services as defined in this compact, including members of the National Guard and Reserve on active duty orders pursuant to 10 U.S.C. Section CHAPTERS 1209 and 1211; 2. members or veterans of the uniformed services who are severely injured and medically discharged or retired for a period of one ( 1) year after medical discharge or retirement; and 3. members of the uniformed services who die on active duty or as a result of injuries sustained on active duty for a period of one ( 1) year after death. B. The provisions of this interstate compact shall only apply to local education agencies as defined in this compact. C. The provisions of this compact shall not apply to the children of: 1. inactive members of the national guard and military reserves;

2. members of the uniformed services now retired, except as provided in Section A; 3. veterans of the uniformed services, except as provided in Section A; and 4. other U.S. Dept. of Defense personnel and other federal agency civilian and contract employees not defined as active duty members of the uniformed services.

SECTION 2. Act subject to petition - effective date. This act takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following the expiration of the ninety-day period after final adjournment of the general assembly (August 12, 2026, if adjournment sine die is on May 13, 2026); except that, if a referendum petition is filed pursuant to section 1 (3) of article V of the state constitution against this act or an item, section, or part of this act within such period, then the act, item, section, or part will not take effect unless

approved by the people at the general election to be held in November 2026 and, in such case, will take effect on the date of the official declaration of the vote thereon by the governor.

Julie McCluskie SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

James Rashad Coleman, Sr. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE

Vanessa Reilly CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Esther van Mourik SECRETARY OF THE SENATE

APPROVED on Tuesday May 5th 2026 at 3:00pm (Date and Time)

Jared S. Polis GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF COLORADO