Under the new Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), states will be able to learn more about the military-connected students in their public schools.

     The legislation, which reauthorizes the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, was passed by Congress and signed by President Obama this week.

     The new data element will allow educators, policymakers and the military to better understand how military children, who face challenges such as frequent school transitions and parental deployments, are performing in school. The law applies to students whose parents are active duty members of the Armed Forces.

     The federal government now follows at least a dozen states that have already added a military-connected identifier in their student information systems. The new student category is also a significant step toward what many organizations and leaders of military-connected school districts have been advocating.

     "For seven years, this has been one of our number one goals both in California and nationally," says Dr. Ron Avi Astor, who leads the Welcoming Practices project at USC. 

     The Consortium districts in Building Capacity and Welcoming Practices worked in partnership with the Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC), the Department of Defense, school liaison officers, and several other organizations to push for military-connected students as a subgroup. The proposal was also a top recommendation for the participants in the California Engagement, a 2012 event at USC that brought together representatives from the education, military, business, nonprofit and faith-based communities to collaborate on a blueprint for serving military-connected students in the state. 

     But MCEC and Dr. Astor say the law falls short by not including students whose parents serve in the National Guard or the Reserves. Dr. Astor added that the children of veterans, who are now coping with the reintegration of parents back into family and community life, also need to be recognized in data systems. MCEC estimates that over four million children have parents who have served since 9-11.

     "There is still work to be done," he says.

     Families and staff members in the five Welcoming Practices districts can now download WelConnect, the new mobile app that will allow families to find the services and programs they want for their children. 

     The Welcoming Practices Annual Report and the Welcoming Practices Technical Evaluation Report are now available. Both reports provide detailed information on Year 2 of the Consortium. 

     The Annual Report summarizes the major accomplishments during Year 2, including the release of the WelConnect app, the ongoing development of school welcome centers and the work of Student-to-Student groups in the schools. The report also includes major findings from the latest California Healthy Kids Survey as well as surveys of parents and school staff members. 

     The Technical Evaluation report is a more comprehensive document, providing data on the many components of the Welcoming Practices grant. It includes many tables as well as extensive feedback from parents on their experiences with the registration process and their suggestions on how schools can be more welcoming and supportive of new families. 

     Both reports are on our website along with past reports on both Welcoming Practices and Building Capacity. 

     Restorative Discipline Practice--an approach to teaching students accountability for their actions--is getting attention across the state.

     The practice, being used in the Oceanside Unified School District's (OUSD) Alternative Learning Center (ALC), as well as in other schools throughout the district, was featured in the November/December issue of the Association of California School Administrators' (ASCA) Leadership magazine.