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Justice System Fails Military Family, License Portability Law Ignored in Texas, 2023

Washington D.C. – In a shocking case of bureaucratic indifference, the state of Texas has been accused of ignoring a new federal law designed to protect the rights of military families.

A military spouse, identified as plaintiff in the lawsuit Portée v. Morath, filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas alleging that the state denied her request to have her out-of-state school counseling licenses recognized as valid as required under the new Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) license portability provision.

The SCRA, a law that provides financial and housing protections to servicemembers and their families, was amended in January 2023 to include a provision allowing servicemembers and their spouses to have their professional licenses recognized in new jurisdictions if they meet certain requirements.

According to the complaint, the military spouse, who holds school counseling licenses issued by Ohio and Missouri, recently moved to Del Rio, Texas, due to her husband’s military orders. However, when she applied to have her licenses recognized in Texas, the state licensing authorities told her that the new SCRA law ‘would not apply to Texas.’

The Justice Department has since filed a statement of interest in the case, arguing that the Texas state licensing authorities’ interpretation of the law is incorrect and that the requirement that the license have been ‘actively used during the two years immediately preceding the relocation’ to the new jurisdiction should be interpreted to require only that the license have been used at some point during the prior two years.

According to Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, the SCRA license portability provision is designed to reduce the administrative hurdles that servicemembers and their spouses face when they move across state lines. ‘Servicemembers and their families should not face unnecessary barriers to employment because of the sacrifices they make in service to our country,’ he said.

The case highlights the ongoing struggles faced by military families, who often sacrifice their careers and financial security for the sake of their country. ‘This federal law is in place to help military spouses maintain their careers and financial security while enduring already stressful life changes,’ said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas. ‘Ultimately, the SCRA strengthens America’s military families and our overall national security, and that is something that we should all be committed to.’

The Justice System Fails Military Family, License Portability Law Ignored in Texas, 2023