Thank you, U.S. Government!

This news came in yesterday and is a big honking deal for the future aspirations of a lot of my kids:

"Graduates of all online charter schools... who plan to enter the military have historically been classified as “second tier” graduates in the eyes of the United States Military. Many... e-schools and advocacy organizations, have been fighting for our graduates on this issue since the very beginning of the school. We’ve had many graduates make the decision to enter the military after their time with us only to learn that they would be on the same level as a G.E.D. with less pay and, in many cases, unable to join. On December 31, after passing in Congress, the FY12 National Defense Authorization Bill (HR 1540) was signed into law by President Obama. The bill includes language to resolve this inequitable recruitment issue."

In the past few years, one of the reasons my class count dropped at the end of the year was that students who wanted to join the Marines or Air Force found their schooling choice to be a problem. They left my school and went back to their home school just in time to earn their diploma from, in the eyes of the military, a more legitimate institution. That always made me feel like my work was considered a sham. I work hard to educate my students!

Thank you, U.S. Government, for getting your collective tushes in alignment on this issue.