Note from the MIC3 Chair, Vol 2, Issue 18

Note from the Commission Chair

Vol 2, Issue 18 - May 1, 2020

Dear State Commissioners and Ex-Officio Members,

With the pandemic now several months gone, school campuses nationwide are closed for on-site instruction and military permanent change of station moves are on hold - it’s difficult to know what to write. I’m sure that many of you have your plates completely full, so I’ll be brief.

This public health emergency is causing all of us to rethink many things. It helps me to keep in the back of my mind that one of the key aspects of the Compact is that it creates flexibility for states to find solutions to the transitional issues military-connected students may encounter. Flexibility is going to be key in other aspects of our work right now, too. There’s no sure roadmap to normalcy at this point. The number of cases of COVID-19 and the death toll continue to rise even as states consider when and how to reopen and allow daily life to get back in motion. We have to be flexible.

States will reopen at different times and in different degrees. Travel will resume at some point. DOD will recommence transfers. We simply have to watch for that to happen and be ready to do what we do: resolve educational transitional issues for the students. I think we’ll have to be more flexible than ever before.

Let’s remember what we’re about. We work out those issues for the children of active duty members of the uniformed services. Anything else is a secondary concern. Much of what we do aside from that – training, committee meetings, even the annual business meeting – can happen virtually. The national staff and the executive committee are working on this and when we have the answers, we’ll share them with you. But for now, the best thing we can all do is to maintain our focus on helping students. The national staff and the executive committee are ready to do whatever it takes to support you.

Until this pandemic is over, we stay the course. We can do this. The measure of our success will be whether all of us, as commissioners, continue to serve the students as they deserve. It’s an honor to fulfill that duty with you.

Respectfully,

John I. "Don" Kaminar

Chair

RESOURCE: COMMISSION LEGAL ADVISORIES

Definition: a n opinion issued by a court or a commission (like an election commission) that does not have the effect of adjudicating a specific legal case, but merely advises on the constitutionality or interpretation of a law.

Since 2011, the Commission has issued seventeen advisories on topics such as: waiving course exams , immunizations , and most recently, grade point average recalculations .

Process : A State Commissioner may submit a request with the case details to the Executive Director (ED) for consideration. If approved, the ED and General Counsel will craft and submit the advisory to the Executive Committee (EXCOM) for approval at their monthly meeting prior to dissemination to the Commission and posting on the MIC3 website .

To view past advisories, click here .