Lawmakers aim to ease stress for military families

One measure would ease pre-K enrollment for children; another would offer services to vets

And both chambers have a bill, supported by the presiding officers, to offer professional help for soldiers returning from Iraq with mental health and substance abuse problems. If passed, the law would take effect in June and last until May 31, 2011.

‘‘You’ve got an intense conflict where we’re sending the same troops and Marines again and again and again, and it’s really taking a toll,” said Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown (D), who spent 10 months in Iraq. ‘‘The problem is not being addressed. [This bill] is a small, but necessary, step in the right direction.”

Military families move three times as often as other families, making it tougher for their children to get consistent education, said Jennifer Williams, coordinator for Countdown to Kindergarten, a statewide campaign that aims to get more children in pre-kindergarten classes.

‘‘It’s a disruptive time for kids,” she said. ‘‘Military kids will face a whole life of transitions. These families are making real sacrifices for the rest of us.”

Kim Noble, who was once a military child, agreed.

‘‘It is difficult,” said Noble, whose husband, Donnie, retired from the Air Force in 2003. She and her husband lived in five different states and Korea in 10 years. ‘‘I went to three different high schools. You’re always the new kid on the block.”

Williams estimated that 1,470 4-year-olds would be eligible for pre-kindergarten services, but only 900 would enroll in the programs.

‘‘That is a poor estimate,” said Rolf H. Grafwallner, assistant superintendent of the state’s early childhood development office. ‘‘It is very hard to determine how many families would try to get their children enrolled.”

On Wednesday, Hucker (D-Dist. 20) of Silver Spring said his proposal would not create new pre-kindergarten programs for military children, but amend current criteria to include military children into the mix. Under federal guidelines, poorer families are given priority for pre-kindergarten space. If a family earns above federal income guidelines, then their child’s name appears on a waiting list. If passed, Hucker’s bill would call for all military children to be given spots in pre-kindergarten programs.

Still, 81 percent of the state’s elementary schools have some sort of pre-kindergarten programs, said Grafwallner, who chaired a statewide task force that examined the need for systemwide pre-kindergarten in schools. In a list of recommendations sent in December to Gov. Martin O’Malley (D), the task force calls for systemwide universal pre-kindergarten by 2014.

‘‘Under the current fiscal environment, I’m not sure how realistic it is,” Grafwallner said.

The bill’s effect would vary from county to county. In Montgomery, the state’s largest school system, the school board voted Tuesday to take no position on the legislation. But in Harford or Anne Arundel counties — home to the Aberdeen Proving Ground and Fort Meade bases, respectively — the outcome could be greater.

Not so, said Don Morrison, a spokesman for Harford County Public Schools. Because of the base realignments, the county is losing much of its military personnel. Of the 493 students at Roye-Williams Elementary, where the school system sends most of its military children, 40 military children are in the pre-kindergarten program.

‘‘We don’t know for sure as to how the parents would react or respond if that bill would go into effect,” Grafwallner said. ‘‘We’ll have to just see how it plays out. It’s a bit of an unknown. Conceptually, the bill fits within the recommendation of the task force.”

Under Kaiser’s bill, Maryland’s school systems would form a compact with other states to better transfer paperwork for military children who move.

Similar legislation has been introduced in at least 15 other states. The compact would form once 10 states agree to the same legislative language, Kaiser said.

‘‘Military kids, when they go from school system to school system, their records may not get there on time,” said Kaiser (D-Dist. 14) of Burtonsville. ‘‘It’s just creating greater flexibility for these kids who move around through no fault of their own.”