Did you know the 3rd grader with the military parent who is acting out in your class was in gifted programming at his old school and is acting out because he is bored? Did you know that the 11th grader in your French 1 class is in a bad mood, not because she has an attitude problem, but because your school does not offer the foreign language that she took for 2 years at her last school? What about the girl who transferred in a month after school started? Have you noticed that she keeps a positive attitude despite missing cheer tryouts this year because, by the time her family moved to your school, tryouts were over, and the season had started?
States have made great strides in the last 15 years in their understanding and support of military-connected students. However, a lot of variability exists regarding how supports are implemented in different states and different schools. The Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at Penn State (Clearinghouse) gained this insight through its work on the SPEAK Military Children project, funded by the Department of Defense’s Defense-State Liaison Office. This project looked at the implementation of four initiatives across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
- Advance Enrollment – Allows military families to enroll their children in schools based on military orders rather than proof of residency.
- Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children – Addresses challenges related to school transitions, such as credit transfers, graduation requirements, and extra-curricular activities.
- Military Student Identifier – A federally mandated data point that asks families in public schools about their military status.
- Purple Star Schools Program – Recognizes schools that implement military-friendly policies and programs.
Clearinghouse scientists conducted this project in three phases: (1) a review of the literature related to military-connected students; (2) an analysis of state-level laws and regulations related to the four initiatives; and (3) interviews with national-, state-, and local-level stakeholders, including school personnel, military parents, and installation personnel.
Participants report a variety of positive outcomes related to the four initiatives. These outcomes include less stress on families, increased extra-curricular participation, better-prepared schools, more on-time graduations, increased feelings of belonging, and increased opportunities for military-connected students. These factors are important for family well-being, which impacts Service members’ mission readiness.
However, we also found differences across states in laws and regulations related to the initiatives. Furthermore, participants discussed barriers such as inconsistent policy implementation, lack of awareness among school personnel and parents, and variations in compliance with the laws and regulations.
School personnel have an important role to play in helping military-connected students and their parents navigate the four initiatives. You can help military families by doing the following:
- Find out which initiatives are available in your state.
- Understand how the initiatives are implemented in your state and how their implementation may be different from other states.
- Help families understand how the initiatives are implemented in your state and in your school.
- Understand that, even if your state has the initiative, families may be coming from a state that did not have the initiative or from a state that implements the initiative differently.
Many states have implemented the four initiatives, and many states and schools share the goal of supporting miliary-connected students. With continued support from policymakers and school personnel, military-connected students can successfully adapt to their new school environment and thrive. If you would like additional information on how you can support military-connected students, the School Resources to Support Military-Connected Students website offers several free training modules.
More information on the literature regarding miliary-connected students’ educational success, the laws and regulations related to the four initiatives in each state, and people’s experiences with local implementation is available on the project webpage.
Jennifer Karre, Ph.D., is a research and evaluation scientist at the Clearinghouse. In this role, she has been evaluating programs and policies for nearly 15 years. She was the project lead for the SPEAK Military Children project.