Procedure – Educational Opportunities for Students with a Parent in the Military

This procedure applies to eligible school-aged children enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade. A sending school/district is the school from which the child of a military family is sent or brought or caused to be sent or brought; the receiving school/district is the school to which the student with a parent in the military is sent, brought or caused to be sent or brought.

Enrollment and Educational Records

  1. For every child of a parent in the military in transition, the custodian of records in the sending school will provide on request unofficial or “hand-carried” education records to the parents so the student may transfer to another school. Sending schools may charge parents for the reasonable cost of reproduction of these records. The receiving school will, upon receipt of the hand-carried records, enroll and appropriately place the student based on this information, pending validation by official records.
  2. Simultaneous with enrollment and conditional placement of the student, the receiving school will request from the sending school the student’s official education records. Upon receipt of this request, the sending school will provide these official records to the receiving school within ten business days, excluding school breaks (spring, summer and holidays).
  3. The parent or guardian of an eligible child in transition must obtain and provide documentation on a health department approved Certificate of Immunization Status (CIS) form regarding all immunizations required by the Washington State Department of Health on or before the child’s first day of school. Students must obtain all immunizations required by the state of Washington within 30 calendar days from the date of enrollment. For vaccines administered in a series, the first of the series must be obtained within the first 30 calendar days from enrollment.
  4. In order to be enrolled in the district under the special rules of the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children (Compact), students must provide, in addition to immunization records, official military orders showing that the child’s parent is a qualified member in the sending state. If a child formerly resided with a legal guardian other than the parent in the military, the student may provide proof of guardianship or other documentation to satisfy eligibility under the Compact. The student must also provide documentation from the sending school indicating the student’s record of attendance, academic information and grade placement, in addition to evidence of the student’s date of birth.
  5. A child of a parent in the military in transition will be allowed to continue his/her enrollment in the receiving school at the same grade level in which he/she was enrolled in the sending school, regardless of age. A student who has satisfactorily completed the prerequisite grade level in the sending school is eligible for enrollment in the next highest grade level in the receiving school, regardless of age. A student transferring after the start of the school year in the receiving school will enter the school on his/her validated level from an accredited sending school.
  6. A child of a parent in the military in transition who is placed in the care of a non-custodial parent or other person standing in loco parentis living in a jurisdiction other than that of the custodial parent may continue to attend the school in which he/she was enrolled while residing with the custodial parent. The school may not charge tuition in order to attend, but may charge tuition for optional programs for which tuition is normally required. Transportation to and from the school is the responsibility of the non-custodial parent, unless otherwise required by law.
  7. A custody order, special power of attorney or other applicable document relative to the guardianship of a child of a parent in the military and executed under the applicable law of each member state will be sufficient for the purposes of enrollment and other actions requiring parental participation and consent.

Graduation

  1. The district will waive specific course requirements for graduation if similar course work has been satisfactorily completed in the sending school. If not waived, the district will provide reasonable justification for the denial and provide alternative means of satisfying the requirement so that graduation may occur on time. Receiving schools may also waive additional requirements (volunteer work, graduation project) in order to facilitate on-time graduation.
  2. For students entering high school in the 11th and 12th grades the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, in accordance with state law, will determine completion of graduation testing requirements by considering current Washington student transfer options. These options will be considered as an alternative to graduation testing requirements in the receiving school. If such options cannot be accommodated for a student in his/her senior year, the following Section C will apply.
  3. If a student transfers during his/her senior year and cannot graduate on time from the receiving school after all options have been considered, the receiving school will coordinate with the sending school to ensure that the student receives a diploma from the sending school if the student meets all the sending school’s requirements. If the sending school is not a member of the Compact, the receiving school shall use best efforts to facilitate the student’s on-time graduation.

Attendance, Placement and Co-curricular Activities

  1. The district shall initially place a child of a parent in the military in transition who transfers before or during the school year in educational courses based on the student’s enrollment in the sending state school and/or education assessments conducted at the sending school, to the extent that such courses are provided for by the receiving school. This includes but is not limited to: highly capable programs, honors, international baccalaureate, advanced placement, English as a second language and technical/career courses. The receiving school may perform subsequent evaluations to ensure the appropriate placement and continued enrollment of the student. The receiving school may allow the student to attend similar education courses in other schools within the district if the receiving school does not offer such courses.
  2. In compliance with the federal requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the receiving district will initially provide comparable services to a student with disabilities based on his/her current Individualized Education Program (IEP) developed at the sending school. The receiving school will also make reasonable accommodations and modifications to address the needs of incoming students with disabilities subject to a Section 504 plan. The district will also continue a student’s program under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The receiving school may perform subsequent evaluations to ensure the appropriate placement and continued eligibility of the student.
  3. The district will facilitate the opportunity for the transitioning student’s inclusion in extracurricular activities, regardless of application deadlines, with consultation from the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, and to the extent the student is qualified and space is available. Application deadlines include tryouts, summer conditioning and other coach or district prerequisites.

Absence Related to Deployment Activities

A student whose parent or legal guardian is a full-time, active member of the uniformed services and has been called to duty for, is on leave from or immediately returned from deployment to a combat zone or combat support posting shall be granted excused absences at the discretion of the superintendent to visit with his/her parent or legal guardian relative to such leave or deployment.

Assistance for Families

Families needing assistance concerning rights under the Compact should contact:

District Contact:

Assistant Superintendent

214 W. Laurel Rd.

Bellingham, WA

360.398-7111

State Contact:

Dixie Grunenfelder, Program Supervisor

Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction

360.725.6045, Dixie.grunenfelder@k12.wa.us

Military Contacts:

Norma Melo, M.A.Ed.

Director of Youth Education Support Services

Child Youth and School Services

Joint Base Lewis McChord

253.967.7195, norma.melo@us.army.mil

Jason Gooding, M.A.Ed.

School Liaison Officer

Naval Station Everett

425.304.3688, Jason.gooding@navy.mil

Adoption Date: 07/24/13

Classification: Encouraged

Revised Dates: 09/19

Policies and Procedures