Gov. Greg Abbott named 150 public schools in the state of Texas that have been chosen to receive the honor of the Purple Star Campus Designation, a press release from his office announced on Aug. 24.
“Texas proudly supports the brave men and women of our U.S. military and their families—and that includes the nearly 200,000 military-connected students attending public schools across our state,” Abbott said in the news release. “I signed a law in 2019 establishing the Purple Star Campus Designation program to encourage Texas public schools to expand resources and tools available on their campuses to help them meet the unique educational needs of military-connected students and their families. Together, we are giving back to our brave military families and paving the way for a brighter future for all Texas students.”
The Purple Star Program is a nationally recognized honor being implemented across the United States, according to the Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC). As of May 2023, 38 states have begun to recognize and award this honor to schools. Its main goal is to help children of military families who move around the nation every two or three years have a more seamless and welcoming transition to their new school. The award is designed to encourage schools to focus on the holistic struggles of these children—their physical, mental, and emotional struggles in constantly switching schools and neighborhoods while still trying to stay on track for their educational goals, MCEC says.
The Purple Star Campus Designation recognizes a public or charter school in the state of Texas that goes above and beyond to meet the needs of the military and their families. Schools chosen for this award must first apply for such recognition and meet certain criteria, including, but not limited to appointing an individual to act as a liaison between the school staff and administration and the military families, designing a school web page that clearly outlines all information military families may find helpful, implementing a campus transition program and structuring other programs or events to meet their needs, the Texas Education Agency's Purple Star Designation webpage says.
In the legislature, the Purple Star Campus Designation program was unanimously approved by both the House Public Education Committee and the Senate Veteran Affairs and Border Security Committee before being passed and sent to Abbott for his signature in 2019. The program went into effect immediately for both primary and secondary educational schools across the state, the state legislature's website says.
