The Virginia Council on the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children (the Council) was created in 2009 to consider all matters related to the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children (the Compact). The Compact seeks to remove barriers to educational success imposed on children of military families by frequent moves and the deployment of their parents. The Compact addresses such issues as timely enrollment and placement, on-time graduation, and sharing of information between states to ensure a smooth educational transition for dependents of military families as they move from and to other states.

Virginia is home to some of the Nation’s largest and most important military installations, so it is not surprising that the Commonwealth’s schools educate more military children than any other state. As of September 18, 2025, the United States Defense Manpower Data Center estimated that there are 71,293 school-age (between ages 5-18), military-associated children of active-duty military, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (USPHS), and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) members residing in Virginia. According to this data, Virginia is home to nearly 10,670 more of these children than Texas, the next highest State.

The average military student faces transition challenges more than twice during high school, and most military children will attend six to nine different school systems from kindergarten to twelfth grade. The Compact seeks to make transitions easier for the children of military families so that they are afforded the same opportunities for educational success as other children and are not penalized or delayed in achieving their educational goals.

The continued focus for the Council in 2025 was identifying and supporting the needs of key stakeholders so they can continue the work to ease the needs of military-connected children in our schools. In September 2024, Rear Admiral Stephen Barnet assumed command of Navy Region Mid-Atlantic, succeeding Rear Admiral Carl Lahiti.