Federal Daily - April 15, 2008
Kansas, Kentucky Adopt Education Compact for Military Families
Kansas and Kentucky become the first two states to adopt an education compact designed to help the
transition of military children and their families, who are forced to move often to meet the demands
of the service. Last week, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) and Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear (R) signed
laws in their states adopting the compact. Another 21 states are expected to soon follow suit, said
a statement from DoD, which helped develop the new rules. Once 10 states approve the compact, it will
go into effect, DoD said. The compact addresses common problems that affect military students as a
result of frequent moves and deployments. States that sign on to the compact agree to work collectively
with other compact states to create uniform standards of practice, including the transfer of records,
graduation requirements and testing. Approximately 1.5 million children of military families attend
schools other than those sponsored by DoD, and military families move about three times as often as
their civilian counterparts. “The compact creates consistency and certainty for families as they
move from one school to another,” said Leslye Arsht, deputy under secretary of defense for military
community and family policy. To see more, go to: www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=11833.
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VA Creates Office to Coordinate Hiring Vets
Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Peake on April 10 announced the creation of a new office, the
Veterans Employment Coordination Service, which will synchronize veteran recruitment efforts within
the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The office especially will work to encourage the hiring of
recently disabled combat veterans, the department said. The new office will work with military transition
programs, veterans service organizations and other VA programs to promote careers in the VA work force.
The program will also work with department managers and human resource offices to ensure supervisors
are aware of programs for hiring veterans. Efforts to assist severely injured veterans already have
begun with the department’s participation in local career fairs targeting combat veterans. About
31 percent of VA’s 260,000 employees are vets, and nearly 8 percent are service-connected disabled
vets. VA ranks first among non-defense federal agencies in the hiring of disabled veterans. “It
is important VA continues to set the example to private and public employers,” Peake said. To
see more, go to: http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1488.
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Postal Regulatory Commission Launches New Web site
The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) last week launched its new Web site, which it said will provide
enhanced and seamless access to PRC information. During the Web site update process, PRC officials
solicited input from frequent users of the site and incorporated many of the suggestions. The update
includes two new features: the Newsroom—which includes congressional testimony, speeches
and press releases—and Breaking News, for more immediate information. Both sections
will provide information about the PRC, the commission said, and the update will retain features such
as Daily Listing, the What's New section and Filing Online, as well as reference
material links to Dockets and the enhanced Library—which contains reports from
the U.S. Postal Service and the PRC. “The new website will provide a more user-friendly way of
accessing the commission and its operations,” PRC Chairman Dan G. Blair said in a statement.
To see more, go to: www.prc.gov/prc-docs/newsroom/PressReleases/Release%20New%20Website%20Launch.pdf.
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