HAMPTON, Va. (WVEC) -- Governor Ralph Northam was at Kecoughtan High School in Hampton on Monday to sign an important piece of legislation.
Northam signed a bill intended to give military children more educational consistency. The bill allows students to stay at the same public school -- free of charge -- even if their parents are transferred to military housing in another school division.
In the past, military parents could be charged tuition if they wanted their kids to remain at the same school. Senate Bill 775 sponsor, Sen. Mamie Locke (D-Hampton) said military families were getting the short end of the stick.
"We heard testimony about the difficulties families were encountering as they relocated to military installations in Virginia," she said. "They have been denied enrollment, actually in the permanent location, or, the were asked to pay tuition by that school division."
Northam said he knows about the problems, first-hand.
"When I was in the Army for eight years, we had to move three times," he said. "When you have children, your children move with you. And so when children go to new schools ever two, three or four years, it can be diffcult."
He said it is crucial that the state do all it can to help its military citizens."So this piece of legislation is important, so that when families move to a new area, they can go to just one school and that';s where their permanent housing is going to be," he said. "So it''s very important piece of legislation. We want to do everything we can in Virginia to take care of our active duty military members and their families and also our veterans."
According to the Virginia Department of Education, this state teaches more military children than any other state in the country, with more than 70,000 military connected students enrolled in Virginia schools.