Photo: Elizabethtown schools administrators in Kentucky review compact regulations.

Due to the continual turnover of school personnel and families that become eligible under the program, education, and advocacy across states have been a key focus area of the commission and included in the strategic plans since our inception in 2007. The Training Committee, led by Texas Commissioner Shelly Ramos, focuses on developing resources and programs to assist states in educating stakeholders. “Training is crucial in raising awareness,” she said, “and is imperative that schools and parents understand how it can help students stay on grade level and on track to graduate.”

Supporting Military Families with Special Medical or Educational Needs

MIC3 recently hosted a webinar that featured representatives from the Army and Marine School Liaison Program, the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP), and the US Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). The panel highlighted the programs and services provided by their organizations to support military families with special medical or educational needs. The webinar and resources are now posted on mic3.net!

View the Webinar View Resources

John Erickson

Hawaii Commissioner

John joined the Hawaii Department of Education (HIDOE) in 1994 as a counselor at Moanalua Elementary School in Honolulu after working for two years in New York City Public Schools. He previously served as the vice principal at Pearl Harbor Elementary and principal at both Aiea Elementary and Hickam Elementary. He was appointed as the acting complex area superintendent (CAS) for the Aiea, Radford, and Moanalua complex area schools in August 2013 and named CAS in September 2015.

Kyle Wood

MCEC Ex-Officio Representative

A longtime educator and nonprofit leader with over fifteen years of experience in and out of the classroom, Kyle started with Teach For America in Atlanta, GA, in special education middle school math. After several years, he became an administrator and most recently served as the Director of School Operations for Achievement First’s flagship high school in New Haven, CT. He holds advanced degrees in Education and Business Administration. When he’s not hard at work, you can find him reading a book, getting some exercise, or spending time with his family.

How Schools Can Better Support Military Children and Families

The author, Jessica Saum, is a collaboration and inclusion coordinator for Cabot Public Schools and was the 2022 Arkansas Teacher of the Year. She serves as a non-voting member and special advisor on the Arkansas State Council.

"Educators can also make sure that students are placed in the appropriate courses and are being academically challenged while facilitating continuity of related services such as therapy or special education services, if they are eligible. In the instances where military students move mid-year, schools can ensure that students are placed in the right classrooms for the support they need from special education services to advanced placement courses. Educators should familiarize themselves with the Military Interstate Children’s Compact Commission and the resources available to the students they teach."

New Graphic Provides Status of State Compliance

This year, the Compliance Committee unveiled a new tool for monitoring progress with annual compliance requirements. Recently, a state requested clarity on how they should interpret the 'wheel'. "The wheel is simply a monitoring tool, not an evaluation criterion," said Compliance Chair Steven Bullard (KY), "it’s meant to be a quick way to look at a lot of information in a densely formatted graphic format." Red blocks show – per the color guide at the above – where a state is still outstanding. The wheel represents the current Fiscal Year 2024, so a state is not “delinquent” in any area until July 1, 2024. “Fiscal Year 2024” is highlighted in the white center block.

Each “spoke” represents a state. The concentric rings are color-coded to a specific event. If the color on your spoke matches the event, you are compliant for that event; if it is “red”, it’s still outstanding. "For those who, like me, are fully or partially color blind, with little ability to discern color differences," added Bullard, "we added color density differences in the color guide so you can still tell where that “color” stands out in the wheel. The main value in the wheel is that a quick look, once you understand the chart, tells the viewer where states are at in completing their current requirements, and which ones they still need to work on."

Becoming a Powerful Provider with OneOp

Check out OneOp’s upcoming live webinars for July. All past webinars are available on-demand via the Learning Library - OneOp. Participants can earn free continuing education credits and certificates of attendance.

OneOp is a virtual professional development platform for providers serving military families. Programming is free of charge and open to DoD, federal and state service providers, Cooperative Extension professionals, as well as community educators, case managers, advocates, and counselors supporting the military community.