SB 920: California Purple Star School Designation Program.

Existing law requires the State Department of Education to establish a formal liaison with the United States Department of Defense and school districts and county offices of education that enroll military dependents to, among other things, create model memoranda of agreement between military bases and school districts or county offices of education regarding enabling schoolage military dependents to experience a smoother transition from one school to another school. Existing law authorizes a governing board of a school district and a county office of education to undertake certain activities to properly address the needs of military dependents.

This bill would require the State Department of Education to establish a nonmonetary California Purple Star School Designation Program to reduce the burden on military-connected pupils and their families and to publicly recognize and designate public schools that meet certain requirements related to supporting military-connected pupils and their families unique needs, as provided. The bill would require the department to develop an annual application process and adopt application criteria for the California Purple Star School Designation Program, as specified, and would provide that a Purple Star School designation is valid for 3 years, after which a schoolsite seeking to renew its designation is required to reapply.