With the adoption of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), military-connected students are now recognized as a distinct subgroup, including students with a parent who is a member of the Armed Forces on active duty. Students with parents or guardians who serve full-time in the military move and change schools frequently, and over 80% of these students attend U.S. public schools. With the adoption of the Military Student Identifier (MSI), educators are provided with critical information to personalize attention to military-connected students. Use this resource for answers to commonly asked questions about the MSI and for examples of effective implementation for State Education Agencies (SEAs) and Local Education Agencies (LEAs).
The Military Student Identifier Code indicates a student with a parent who is a member of the Armed Forces (defined in section 101(a)(1)(4) of title 10, United States Code) on active duty (as defined in section 101(d)(5) of such title).
Students of parents who serve on full-time National Guard duty, where “armed forces”, “active duty”, and “full-time National Guard duty” have the same meanings given to them in 10 U.S.C. 101(a)(4), 101(d)(1), and 101(d)(5) are also provided an MSI code.
LEAs and public charters must include the military student identifier question in their student enrollment procedure. Each state or LEA will determine any additional collection and reporting needs related to their student management systems policies and procedures.
An effective way to ask this question is to break it up into small parts. Start by asking if the student is a dependent of a member of the United States military service in the Active Duty Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps or Coast Guard. Then, ask more granular questions.
Below is an example of how one Texas public school district asks for MSI information.
Parents or guardians may choose not to respond to this question. If no answer is given, assume the answer is no. No parent or guardian should be asked to verify their status in the military by showing military identification or other DOD documentation. However, verification of military membership may be necessary if the school has a special program where verification is a requirement. One example where this would be necessary would be state-funded prekindergarten.
ESSA regulations require states to be able to disaggregate assessment results within each LEA. States may also choose to require LEAs or public charters to include this information on report cards. Additionally, schools regularly use this information to determine program effectiveness, identify areas in need of attention or resources, and detect students who may need academic assistance. MSI data can help finely tune schools’ programs to ensure they are meeting the needs of military-connected students.
Just as schools consistently concentrate on the unique needs of all students, such as those with English language needs or learning disabilities, they can now add another unique group of students. This way military-connected students are considered in school planning, programming, and curriculum design.
There is no current process to connect students enrolled in school with their military parents. There are privacy and permission issues as well as national security issues associated with sharing data among governmental agencies.
The Military Student Identifier is separate from Impact Aid and has a different purpose. The purpose of the MSI is to provide local educators with quality, actionable data concerning their military-connected students.
This downloadable guide is a great resource to have available so you're fully prepared to help your military-connected students.
This guide was created by SchoolQuest, a free resource to help military-connected families transition to new schools and make the best academic decisions. SchoolQuest serves as a centralized platform where educational professionals, parents and students can find helpful information, tools, and resources.
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