Last Tuesday, Senators Ted Cruz, Ashley Moody, Ted Budd, and House Representative Pat Harrigan introduced the Continuity of Military Parents’ Academic Schooling and State Standards, “COMPASS” Act in both the House and the Senate. This newly proposed legislation will attempt to address a long-standing issue that military homeschooling families have faced: the homeschooling bureaucratic red tape that comes when following “Permanent Change of Station” (PCS) moves across state lines. This proposal has been backed by major homeschool groups like The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC), and Military Homeschoolers Association who all signed on to the news release this past Tuesday.
The COMPASS Act is still in the very earliest stages of development, but if passed, could mean drastic changes for tens of thousands of homeschoolers in military families nationwide. What will those changes mean? And what are the broader implications for homeschooling?
Breaking Down the “COMPASS” Act
Military families move on average every 2.5 years, and homeschool at around twice the rate as the civilian population. On top of this, homeschool compliance laws vary drastically from state-to-state. This creates a large burden for families when they are quickly relocated to new states that require a higher degree of reporting, especially when the move occurs in the middle of their academic cycle.
The proposed COMPASS act would expand upon legislation that already protects servicemembers from the regulatory challenges experienced when moving due to Permanent Change of Station requirements. This law, called “The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act” protects military families from conflicting state laws on taxes, voting, and driver’s licenses. If passed, the COMPASS Act would ease a burden that many military homeschool families have named for years, and allow military homeschool families to be considered in compliance by following either the laws of the service member’s state of legal residence or the laws of the state where the new duty station is located.
The bill has five stated goals:
- Ensuring uninterrupted educational continuity for military-connected students
- Reducing administrative and legal burdens caused by frequent relocations
- Preventing conflicting State homeschooling requirements from penalizing military families
- Supporting family stability when military homeschoolers move
- Aligning homeschooling treatment more closely with existing protections (the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act)
The bill is in its earliest stages of development, and while there is no specific timeline on when this might get passed, this legislation session will run until January 3rd, 2027, so it is likely there will be some advancement on this bill before then.
Why is This Important?
While the COMPASS act would be beneficial to the significant number of military homeschooled families across the the country, perhaps the most significant aspect of the COMPASS Act is what it represents.
COMPASS raises big questions about how homeschooling policy could work in our country. Historically, homeschooling regulations have almost entirely operated within a state-by-state regulatory framework. While this legislation only focuses on military families, it creates a federal protection that allows families to follow another state’s homeschooling laws. This opens the door for future legislation that protects the continuity of homeschooling education from one state into another. This could expand beyond homeschooling into laws about microschooling or other forms of alternative education.
As homeschooling has rapidly increased over the last ten years, in part driven by school choice policies, a debate over where decision making for homeschooling happens is growing: will it live at the state or federal level, or with parents themselves? Of course, with most things in homeschooling, the answer is usually “a tailored mix”, and “it’s evolving”.
We watch for important homeschooling policy updates that impact you, and will continue to provide simple, clear information on national homeschool news and policy changes. We update our blog weekly every Tuesday, so be sure to check back regularly for the latest homeschooling news, with practical insights for families.