Military families free to choose schools beyond district lines (2024)

COLUMBUS — Under a new state law, military families in Columbus have more flexibility when it comes to deciding where their kids will go to school.

The law, which went into effect July 1, allows active service members – no matter where they live – or civilian military personnel who reside on a military base to send their children to any public school district in the state.

Col. James Blech, commander for the 14th Flying Training Wing at Columbus Air Force Base, said the freedom provided by the law is crucial for families relocating to Columbus.

“This flexibility helps reduce the stress and challenges of relocation, ensuring our airmen and their families have improved quality of life and greater resilience to accomplish our mission to train world class pilots,” Blech wrote in a statement to The Dispatch.

Previously, state law allowed parents residing on a military base to send their children to the district zoned for the base or an adjacent district within 30 miles.

For CAFB parents specifically, students living on base could attend schools in either Columbus Municipal School District or Lowndes County School District, said Linda Gates, community relations representative for the Base Community Council. If they lived off base, they had to attend school in the school district where they resided.

Now parents who are active service members, regardless of their residence, can enroll their children in any school in any district across the state.

“With this law, active military … who are working on base at CAFB, as long as they’re employed and regardless of where they live, there’s some flexibility,” she said. “They can apply to go to a school district of their choice if there’s available space and transportation handled.”

But the law doesn’t guarantee the student can attend their chosen school or district, Gates said. If the district decides it doesn’t have the capacity to receive the student, the school board can deny the request. The district is also not required to provide transportation, she said.

District 39 Rep. Dana McLean, R-Columbus, who co-sponsored the bill, said parents choosing where to send their kids to school is a big factor for military families moving to Columbus. The new law helps with that, since those families would no longer be restricted to CMSD as a public school option.

“It’s something that we’ve been talking about and trying to work on the last couple of years,” McLean said. “… The law allows (school choice for military families) to be statewide in the event that there were bases or military installations that weren’t able to choose.”

A more attractive option

Gates said the change will help improve service members’ quality of life, especially when it comes to relocating to Columbus.

“They are assigned here. They must leave a place they’ve lived, generally for several years, and relocate to a new area,” she said. “So helping them relocate faster in neighborhoods where they choose to live and having the option of flexibility for schools, that is a huge win for the military.”

Added education options also make CAFB more attractive for service members when they list their base preferences, she said.

Gates said it’s also a benefit when it comes to the cost of living. For example, if a family wanted their child to attend LCSD schools but could better afford a home within CMSD district lines, they can do that now, she said.

Colin Krieger, a Realtor with RE/MAX, said he’s already received positive feedback about the change from families moving to Columbus in the fall.

“Almost every one of my clients that I’ve talked to about it has gotten audibly excited,” he said. “The pressure it relieves off their shoulders is tremendous. … They can just buy a house anywhere or rent a house without the pressure of not being able to get into the school district that they want.”

Krieger said there could be several reasons why a family may want their child to attend a different district, like if they wanted a school with a specific sport or curriculum. It is especially helpful for families with students who have special needs and may need to attend a school with certain resources, he said.

Impact on local districts

So far, CMSD hasn’t seen any changes in their military student enrollment, Public Information Officer Nikki Pringle told The Dispatch. She said no students with military affiliation have withdrawn from the district since July.

Superintendent Stanley Ellis said the change is not a big concern for the district.

“CMSD provides many benefits for students of active military families,” he wrote in an email to The Dispatch. “We also offer a quality educational experience that is holistic in nature. This includes rigorous academic experiences that support social and emotional learning.”

At LCSD, Superintendent Sam Allison said students from nine families have taken advantage of the law to enroll in the district since July. He doesn’t anticipate losing any students because of the change.

“If anything, our number of military children will increase across the district,” Allison said.

Amber Meibord, school liaison officer at CAFB, said she has had at least 10 families ask for information related to transferring school districts.

McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.