SB 1188: Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps: home instruction, independent study, and private schools.

Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district maintaining a secondary school to establish in the school courses in military science and tactics that comply with provisions of federal law regarding Reserve Officers Training Corps units in educational institutions.

This bill would revise and recast those provisions by authorizing the governing board or body of a school district, county office of education, or charter school to establish in its schoolsites courses in military science and tactics that comply with provisions of federal law regarding Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) units in educational institutions.

Existing federal law requires a public secondary educational institution that maintains a JROTC unit to permit membership in the unit to homeschooled students residing in the area served by the institution who are qualified for membership in the unit but for lack of enrollment in the institution.

This bill would require a local educational agency offering a JROTC program within any of its schools to ensure equal access to the JROTC program, as defined, to pupils who reside within the attendance area of the local educational agency and are homeschooled or enrolled in a private school, independent study, or a public school other than the school offering the JROTC program, if those pupils meet all applicable eligibility requirements for participation in the JROTC program other than enrollment in the school offering the JROTC program.

The bill would require the State Department of Education to make information about existing JROTC programs available on its internet website and distribute implementation guidance to local educational agencies on an annual basis.