States should better align their education systems to meet work-force needs created by military restructuring, according to a policy brief released today by the National Governors Association.

The governors’ group also recommends that states that stand to gain jobs as part of the Department of Defense’s Base Realignment and Closure plan modify their practices to allow military personnel and their families to more easily qualify for lower in-state tuition rates. Several states, including Alabama, Kansas, and Maryland, already have changed their residency requirements to allow military families to pay the less-expensive rates.

The report singles out promising practices in Florida, which provides in-state tuition rates to military families posted to installations close to the state line, and in Georgia, which allows military dependents who graduate from a Georgia public high school to complete a year at a state college and qualify for its generous HOPE scholarship.

States also need to build a “homegrown” pipeline of skilled workers, the report says. Community colleges close to growing bases need to create and expand technical programs that meet specific job needs. In addition, states should support colleges that offer advanced degrees in areas tied to military needs, such as electronic communications, engineering, and foreign languages, the governors’ association recommends. —Karin Fischer