Purple Star Schools: How State Legislators Are Supporting Military-Connected Students

Legislators in Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, and New York are currently considering legislation to implement or expand Purple Star School programs in their states. These programs are designed to recognize schools that demonstrate a commitment to supporting the children of military servicemembers. Currently, 43 states have implemented or approved legislation to create a version of the Purple Star School program. While these programs vary in scope and impact, they all represent a crucial step in supporting military families.

Children of military servicemembers, also known as military-connected students, face unique challenges that many schools are unequipped to address. On average, military families relocate every two to three years, causing the average military-connected student to change schools six to nine times during their K-12 education. Frequent moves require students to adjust to new curricula, class structures, and state requirements. These challenges are exacerbated when military-connected students move in the middle of the school year or late in their high school education.

In addition to frequent moves, parents of these students are often deployed overseas. While the research concerning military-connected students with deployed parents is mixed, multiple studies have found that students with a parent on a long-term deployment or combat deployment will often experience depression and lower academic achievement. A significant factor in a child’s lower academic achievement is the loss of a parent who would typically help the student with homework.

Purple Star School programs can help equip schools with additional resources to support these military-connected students through their unique challenges. For example, programs in Ohio, Texas, and Virginia recognize schools that designate and train staff to serve as the point of contact for military students and families, provide resources and information on their websites specific to military families, and offer supplemental activities for student professional development. Through these initiatives, state legislators give military families more information to choose the school best equipped to support their children.

Because they vary by state, there is ample opportunity to strengthen these programs to better support military-connected students. For example, ensuring that these designations are available to private and charter schools will help our service members better understand their options for their children’s education. Further, increasing state-level recognition and excitement for schools that achieve the Purple Star designation could inspire more schools to pursue military friendliness.

In addition to highlighting military friendly schools, expanding education freedom to all students is an important aspect of supporting our military families. Purple Star School programs are only helpful if military families are empowered to send their children to the school best equipped to serve their needs, regardless of whether that school is in their zip code. ALEC has been leading the way on expanding education freedom in the states through the Education Freedom Alliance and numerous model policies in our Education and Workforce Development Task Force. In January, ALEC released the 2025 Index of State Education Freedom, which analyzes education policies in all 50 states. Combining Purple Star School programs with broader education freedom policies will strengthen community support for military-connected students and demonstrate our nation’s ongoing commitment to military families.

The ALEC Veterans and Military Affairs Task Force will convene for the first time at the ALEC Annual Meeting this summer to develop model policies that support our military community.