Alabama Law Helps Military Families Access Online Learning

Under a new law, military families who have orders to move can enroll their children in an Alabama public school and begin school ‘virtually’ before they arrive.

"...this law helps give parents more options and helps get the kids established into a local program, that just helps make that move a little easier,”

says Lt. Col. Christina Karvwnaris, chief of academic outreach for Air University.

As Alabama public schools work to develop virtual curriculum ahead of what is expected to be one of the most challenging school years to date, a new state law is giving some military families additional flexibility in enrolling their children in remote learning.

Under the new law, known as Alabama Act 2020-68, military families who have orders to move to a military installation in the state can enroll their children in an Alabama public high school and begin school "virtually" before they arrive. Normally, families must already reside within the state before they enroll their children in public school.

While the law only applies to grades nine through 12, the Alabama State Department of Education is working on expanding online education options to all grades as part of its coronavirus response, meaning military children of all grades are likely to benefit.

Many believe the law, which was passed by state legislators with bipartisan support in February prior to COVID-19 concerns, could be especially helpful to military families, many of whom are grappling with unforeseen disruptions to their planned military moves.

Ideally, the law could help alleviate some of the anxiety surrounding the uncertainty, says Lt. Col. Christina Karvwnaris, chief of academic outreach for Air University, which is headquartered in Montgomery's Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base.

"Many people may not realize how often military families move, and that can be stressful in a normal year," Karvwnaris says. "Right now, military families who are supposed to move this summer are having to think about so much more. So, something like this law helps give parents more options and helps get the kids established into a local program, that just helps make that move a little easier."

This year, thousands of military families across the country who had orders to move to a new military installation had those plans put on hold as part of Department of Defense travel restrictions to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Those sweeping federal restrictions were later lifted and replaced by regional restrictions, where local military commanders determine if it's safe to have military personnel and their families move into, or out of, the area surrounding a military base.

But these local restrictions also pose challenges for some installations, such as Maxwell, an area that has seen a recent spike in COVID-19 cases, Karvwnaris says. The Air Force base has about 12,500 personnel assigned to it – the largest military base in the state in terms of population – and is home to a number of commands. Although Montgomery is considered in a hot spot for COVID-19 cases, some personnel moving to Maxwell have been granted waivers to move, while other personnel have had their moves delayed, Karvwnaris says.

In a normal year, roughly 1,500 to 2,000 military personnel move to Maxwell, with the majority of those moves happening during the summer. But it's unclear how many of these moves may be impacted by pandemic-related restrictions, Karvwnaris says. Other large military installations in Alabama include Redstone Arsenal near Huntsville and Fort Rucker, near Enterprise. The new state law applies to children of active duty military personnel for any installation in Alabama.

The bill was passed with the goal of showing that Alabama is a military-friendly state, says Republican State Sen. Donnie Chesteen, who introduced the bill at the behest of Alabama Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth.

"This law had nothing to do with the pandemic, but as it turns out, we were a little ahead of the curve," Chesteen says. "It may help military families enroll their children in virtual school curriculum while they are in transition."