The Florida Department of Education recognizes Purple Star Schools of Distinction as schools that have made a significant commitment to support military families and students of servicemen and women. Purple Star Schools:
- have a designated Military Point of Contact on site to assist military families with enrollment, records transfer, accessing services, and tapping into school- and community-based resources,
- maintain a robust web page with resources for military families,
- provide a student-led transition program to support incoming military-connected students,
- engage staff in annual professional development concerning how to identify and respond to the needs of military students and families,
- participate in a controlled open enrollment process (a school choice process with a finite start/end date) that reserves at least 5% of controlled open enrollment seats for military students, and
- participate in multiple additional activities to celebrate, raise awareness of, or engage the military and military-connected families.