5118.2

Students

Educational Opportunities for Military Children

To facilitate the placement, enrollment, graduation, data collection, and provision of special services for students transferring into or out of the District because of their parents being on active duty in the U.S. Armed Services, the District supports and will implement its responsibilities as outlined in the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children.  The Board of Education believes it is appropriate to remove barriers to educational success imposed on children of military families because of their parents' frequent moves and deployment.

Definitions

Children of military families means school-aged children, enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade, in the household of an active-duty member of the uniformed service of the United States, including members of the National Guard and Reserve.

Deployment means the period one month before the service members depart from their home station on military orders, six months after return to their home station.

Education(al) records means official records, files, and data directly related to a student and maintained by the school, including, but not limited to, records encompassing all the material kept in the student's cumulative folder.

The requirements applicable to eligible students, which must be fulfilled, are listed below.  Eligible students are those who are children of active-duty personnel, active-duty personnel or veterans who have been severely injured and medically discharged, and active-duty personnel who die on active duty within one year of service.  Students are not eligible for the provisions of the Compact if they are children of inactive Guard or Reserves, retired personnel, veterans not included above, or U.S. Department of Defense personnel and other federal civil service employees and contract employees.

The District's responsibilities to eligible children include the following:

•  Sending schools must send either official or unofficial records with the moving students, and District receiving schools must use those records for immediate enrollment and educational placement.

•  Simultaneously, the receiving school must request official records, and the sending schools shall respond within 10 days with the records.

•  Immunization requirements of the District may be met within 30 days from the date of enrollment (or be in progress).

•  Receiving schools must honor placement of students in all courses from the sending school.  These include, but are not limited to, Honors, International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement, vocational-technical, and career pathway courses if those courses are offered in the receiving school.

•  In compliance with federal law, special education students must be placed by the existing IEP with reasonable accommodations in the receiving school.

•  If a child of a member of the armed forces is enrolled in a school under the jurisdiction the district, and such member has received military orders directing them from such town, or any other documents from the armed forces indicating a change of residency from such town during the school year, the child may continue to be enrolled in the school until the end of the school year while such member remains a member of the armed forces, except that any such child in grade eleven may continue to be enrolled in the school for an additional school year while such member remains a member of the armed forces.

•  The District will exercise, as deemed appropriate, the right to waive prerequisites for all courses and programs, while also maintaining its right to re-evaluate the student to ensure continued enrollment, as deemed appropriate.

•  Students of active-duty personnel shall have additional excused absences at the discretion of the District for visitations relative to leave or deployment.

Alternate language for above:

•  A one-day absence is provided for students when their parent/guardian is deployed into active military service.

•  A one-day absence is provided for students when their parent/guardian returns from active military service or deployment.

•  A student whose parent or legal guardian 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 additional excused absences at the discretion of the Superintendent or his/her designee.

•  Absences related to a student visiting with his/her parent, related to leave or deployment activities, may be excused by the District. The district will permit no more than ___ excused absences per year for this purpose. (Note: The local district may specify in its policy how many excused absences are permitted.)

•  An eligible student living with a noncustodial parent or other person standing in loco parentis shall be permitted to attend the school in which he or she was enrolled while living without the custodial parent without any tuition fee imposed.

•  The District high school will accept exit, or end-of-year exams required from the sending state, national norm-referenced tests, or alternate testing instead of testing requirements for graduation in the District (receiving state).  If this is not possible, the alternative provision of the Interstate Compact shall be followed to facilitate the on-time graduation of the student in accordance with Compact provisions.

(cf. 5111 - Admission)

(cf. 5113 - Attendance and Excuses)

(cf. 5123 - Promotion/Retention)

(cf. 5125 - Student Records; Confidentiality)

(cf. 5141.3 - Health Assessments and Immunizations)

(cf. 6146 - Graduation Requirements)

(cf. 6171 - Special Education)

Legal Reference:  Connecticut General Statutes

10-15f Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children

Public Act 25-15 An Act Concerning Various Measures Recognizing and Honoring the Military Service of the Armed Forces in Connecticut. (Section 7)

Policy adopted: