Purple Star School Program

The bill creates the purple star school program (program) in the department of education (department). The purpose of the program is to designate schools of a school district, district charter schools, institute charter schools, or boards of cooperative services (public schools) that provide services and supports to military-connected students and their families to help mitigate the academic and social-emotional challenges they may face as a result of frequent moves, new schools, parental deployments, and different social circles and experiences.

The department is required to create:

• An application for a public school to apply for a purple star school designation;
• A rubric to measure whether a public school qualifies for a purple star school designation; and
• A timeline for a public school to apply for and to renew the purple star school designation.

The department shall designate a public school as a purple star school if the public school applies and qualifies for the designation.

During the first week of April each year, the governor, or the governor's designee, shall recognize each purple star school and present the purple star schools with a certificate.

A purple star school designation is valid for 3 years.

For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, the bill appropriates $33,247 to the department to implement the program.

(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)