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Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026 A Vik Media Group publication
Emerald Coast Dispatch Destin, 30A and Panama City Beach news: Okaloosa, Walton, Santa Rosa and Bay counties
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Schools/Checked Nov. 1, 2026

Moving here with the military: school rights and help

Under the Interstate Compact, Florida schools must enroll military children with hand-carried records, give 30 days for immunizations and keep their grade level. Bay, Okaloosa and Santa Rosa are Purple Star Districts.

Dates checked on Nov. 1, 2026 against each district's published calendar. Districts can change days off and make-up days; the district always wins.

Military families: your rights when you move here

Florida is part of the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children. When you transfer from another state, the new school must enroll and place your child using unofficial or hand-carried records while it waits for the official ones, and the old school must send the official records within 10 days.

You get 30 days from enrollment to get any required immunizations. Your child keeps their grade level, even for kindergarten, and the school first honors the courses they were in.

Children can join sports and clubs after the deadlines if they otherwise qualify. Seniors can have similar courses waived, have the sending state's exit exams accepted or get the diploma from the old school.

Bay, Okaloosa and Santa Rosa are Florida Purple Star Districts (2024-2027), a state designation for districts that support military families. Ask your school for its military liaison.

District pages for military families: OCSD: Military Families · SRCDS: Military Families

Source: Florida Statutes 1000.36: Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children; FLDOE: Purple Star School of Distinction

Parents, help keep this guide right

  • Calendar changed? If your district moves a day off or a make-up day, tell us the date and where it was announced. We check it against the district. Send it.
  • School event open to the public? Plays, fairs and fundraisers can go on our events calendar. Send it.

What readers send is checked by our editors and published as "Reader reports", apart from the official calendars. We never publish your email, and we don't publish names or photos of students.

Sources

Data for AI and developers: llms.txt and school-calendar.csv.