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Committee advances “Rocky’s Law” to expand interstate compact protections for military children
Summary
The Senate committee heard multiple supporters for HB 5381 — Rocky’s Law — which would extend compact eligibility for certain military-connected children and update definitions to include Space Force; committee left the bill pending and later reported it favorably.
Supporters of an update to the interstate compact for military children told senators Friday that the changes would reduce education disruptions for service members’ families and align Texas with national standards.
House Bill 5381, presented by Sen. Middleton and called "Rocky’s Law" by witnesses, would extend compact eligibility in several ways: it would expand eligibility for children of retired service members for four years and for children of deceased service members for four years after the service member’s death. The bill would also update the definition of "uniformed services" to explicitly include the U.S. Space Force, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, and the U.S. Public Health Service.
Perla Hopkins, a veteran and teacher, urged the committee to update Education Code chapter 162 and to make compact information more visible on school districts’ websites. She said the change would better support the estimated 1,500,000 Texas veterans’ children. "This takes it from 1 year to 4 year of benefits when we have military children who have lost their loved one," Hopkins said.
Paul Gauthier and Barca (Barca) Harkeroad also testified in favor of the bill. Harkeroad read a letter from the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense expressing strong support for enhancing chapter 162 of the Texas Education Code; she noted Texas was among the first states to join the compact and described the proposal as national-impact legislation.
Committee questions focused on the bill’s scope and certain sections that the sponsor intends to strike (the sponsor said he would strike section 4 at TEA’s request because Texas does not have a Department of Defense Education Activity-operated school).
With no testimony in opposition, public comment closed and the bill was left pending; later in the hearing the committee voted to report HB 5381 favorably to the full Senate. The clerk recorded 11 ayes and 0 nays on the roll call.
