School Liaison Officers and IEPs for Military Kids in Florida

Moving schools is hard for many autistic children, and a PCS move can mean a new state, new rules and a new IEP team all at once. Every Florida installation has someone whose job includes helping with this: the school liaison. This guide explains what school liaisons do, how to reach the one for your installation, the Florida and interstate rules that protect your child's IEP during a move, and how to prepare for the first meeting at a new school. For the step-by-step IEP transfer rules, see our guide to keeping your child's IEP when you move.

What does a school liaison do?

The Florida Department of Education describes military school liaisons as "acting as a bridge between the military community, schools and local education agencies." In practice, a school liaison can:

• explain how schools and enrollment work in the area you are moving to;
• help you understand your child's rights under the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children;
• connect you with the right contacts in the school district's Exceptional Student Education (ESE) office;
• help when records, placement or enrollment get stuck; and
• point you to installation and community resources, such as your EFMP Family Support office.

A school liaison is not your child's advocate in an IEP dispute and does not make IEP decisions. The IEP team, which includes you, does that. But a liaison often knows the local district well and can help you get the right people to the table.

How do I find the school liaison for my Florida installation?

The Florida Department of Education publishes a list of military school liaisons (dated February 2026). The table shows the office phone numbers on that list. Staff change, so if a number does not reach the liaison office, use the Military OneSource installation directory at installations.militaryonesource.mil or call your installation's main family support office.

Contact the liaison for the installation you are moving to as soon as you have orders. You do not need to wait until you arrive.

What protects my child's IEP when we move to Florida?

Three sets of rules work together.

The Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children

Florida adopted the compact in s. 1000.36, Florida Statutes. Article V says: "A receiving state must initially provide comparable services to a student with disabilities based on his or her current individualized education program (IEP) in compliance with the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act." The receiving school may still do later evaluations "to ensure appropriate placement."

The compact also helps with records. Under Article IV, if official records cannot be released to you for the move, the sending school must give you a complete set of unofficial records, and the receiving school must enroll and place your child based on them while it requests the official records. The sending school must send the official records within 10 days, or as set by the compact's rules.

The compact applies to children of active duty members, including National Guard and Reserve members on active duty orders under 10 U.S.C. chapters 1209 and 1211. It also covers children for one year after a severely injured member is medically discharged or retired, and for one year after a member dies on active duty. It does not apply to children of inactive Guard and Reserve members, or of most retirees and veterans.

Florida's transfer rule

Florida's Rule 6A-6.0334 requires a new district to provide services comparable to the previous IEP, in consultation with you, until it adopts that IEP or writes a new one. For a move from another state, Florida may evaluate first. Our IEP transfer guide walks through the timelines.

Florida's enrollment law for military families

Under s. 1003.05(4), Florida Statutes, a student whose parent "is transferred or is pending transfer to a military installation within the state while on active military duty pursuant to an official military order shall be considered a resident of the school district for purposes of enrollment when the order is submitted to the school district." That means you can start enrollment with your orders, before you have a Florida lease. The same law gives these students preferential treatment in the district's controlled open enrollment process.

What Florida IEP timelines should I know?

If the new district writes a new IEP, Florida's IEP rule, Rule 6A-6.03028, sets these basics:

• The initial IEP is due within 30 calendar days after the student is found eligible.
• An IEP must be in effect at the start of each school year and reviewed at least once a year.
• You must get written notice of IEP meetings early enough to attend, stating the purpose, time, location and who will be there, and telling you that you may invite people with knowledge or special expertise about your child.
• Meetings about certain decisions, such as alternate assessment or an ESE center placement, need at least 10 days' notice.

You may invite people who know your child well. That can include your child's BCBA from private ABA. See bringing a BCBA to an IEP meeting.

How should we prepare for the first meeting at a new school?

1. Call the school liaison for your new installation once you have orders. Ask which district and school your new address will be in, and who to contact in ESE.
2. Hand-carry records. Bring the full current IEP, recent evaluations, progress reports, any behavior intervention plan, and your private ABA treatment plan and progress report if your child has one.
3. Submit your orders with the enrollment paperwork so the district treats you as residents under s. 1003.05.
4. Ask for a meeting before or right after the first day to agree on comparable services.
5. Write down what your child needs on day one: communication supports, a visual schedule, sensory supports, a safe place to calm down, and how staff should handle transitions.
6. Follow up in writing. After each meeting, email a short summary of what was agreed.

Does a school liaison help with scholarships or therapy?

A liaison may point you toward school options, including Florida's education scholarships, but scholarship rules are set by law and run by Step Up For Students. Military families with PCS orders to Florida can apply for the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA) before arriving; see FES-UA for military families. Choosing the scholarship affects your child's rights to a public school education, so read about the trade-off first.

Therapy outside school, such as ABA through TRICARE, is separate from the IEP. Your child's ABA team and school team can share information with your written consent.

Is the military compact permanent in Florida?

Not automatically. Section 1000.40, Florida Statutes, says the compact law and related sections "shall stand repealed on July 1, 2028, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature." This is a scheduled review. The federal special education law, IDEA, and Florida's own transfer rule would still apply.

How Hope Center can help with school transitions

Hope Center for Behavior Change provides ABA in homes, schools, daycares and our centers, and is in network with TRICARE East (Humana Military). Where allowed, our staff can join IEP meetings, and our BCBAs can share strategies that work for your child with the school team, with your consent. Learn more on our military families page and school-based ABA page, contact us or call 561-337-8865.