General School Choice information for Bay District Schools may be found here. The School Choice/Open Enrollment Application is in your FOCUS Parent Portal. Once you are in your portal, select the student that you want to apply for School Choice. A School Choice Application must be completed for each child wishing to go to a school other than zoned. Next, select "School Choice Application." Once you are in the application you will see the first section with your name and address information. You can select up to three schools.

Submitting a transfer request application does not guarantee automatic admission into the requested school. Contact the School Liaison for additional support.

Navy families may visit www.militarychildcare.com to find comprehensive information on child care programs worldwide, conduct a customized search for the care you need and submit a request for care at any time and from any location. Additionally, most elementary schools in Bay District Schools offers a fee-based Extended Day Program. The Extended Day Program provides students a fun and engaging learning environment during the hours most parents/guardians are working. To learn more, click here.

The School Age Care program transports students to the Youth Activities Center from the following school sites: Patronis Elementary, Breakfast Point Elementary, Walsingham Elementary, Surfside Middle and Arnold High School. Bay District Schools does not drop or pick up any students from the Youth Activities Center.

The Bay Base Program at Bay County District Schools is an after school program designed to enrich children's lives educationally, socially, culturally, emotionally, and physically in a safe and familiar setting. The program is open on regular school days, early release days, most holidays, and school vacation days.

In Florida, children must be 5 years old on or before September 1 to be eligible to enroll in Kindergarten. Exceptions are made, under MIC3, for Kindergarten students who have PCS'd to NSA Panama City and were already enrolled in Kindergarten at a U.S. public or DoDEA school. Contact your School Liaison to learn more about MIC3 provisions in place to support transitioning military students.

Parents can attend a Kindergarten Transition Brief that is offered at their CDC. The brief provides information such as eligibility, enrollment requirements, school options, checklists, and resources. The Naval Support Activity Panama City School Liaison also provides this service to families on an individual basis, if needed.

The first step is to look online at the district and school webpages. There you will find answers to most of your questions. If you need more information, Bay County Schools operate on Summer Hours (Monday-Thursday). Families can contact the school or district office during operating hours. The School Liaison works year-round and is available to answer your questions throughout the summer. The School Liaison can support with parent-school communications during summer break.

Click on the following links to learn more about local area virtual school options: Bay Virtual School and Florida Virtual School

Under Florida state law, children must turn four (4) on or before September 1 in order to enroll in Pre-Kindergarten. For Kindergarten, children must turn five (5) on or before September 1 to be eligible. Children must turn six (6) on or before September 1 to enroll in first grade.

Bay County District Schools offer Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) for children who are 4 and 5 years old and Head Start for children who are 3 and 4 years old.

To learn more about VPK enrollment process, click here. To learn more about Kindergarten enrollment process, click here.

In the Navy, your School Liaison can help you with the special needs navigation of the school or district that you are planning to send your child(ren) to. You should also contact the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) to ensure that you are enrolled and that you have all information and resources that they offer.

School Districts identify and assess all students within the district from 3 to 21 years of age who may have disabilities, developmental delays, and provide appropriate support and/or related services to those students determined by an educational evaluation.

Most military housing areas and school districts within school boundaries of military housing are familiar with this situation. We recommend that you request a DD1747 from the Navy Housing Service Center stating that you have been approved for base housing. Most times this is all the schools need to proceed with registration. If you have questions or issues, please contact your SL.

The School Liaison (SL) helps by providing you with educational information on your new area (based on residence) and connects you with an SL in your next duty station if you are leaving NRSE. SLs also offer resources on deployment support, are the liaison between command, schools and military families, work with commands and schools on the Partnership in Education program, can help families navigate the special needs programs in districts, and offer information and support for Homeschool and Post-Secondary preparation.

The Interstate Compact seeks to make transitions easier for the children of military families so that they are afforded the same opportunities for educational success as other children and are not penalized or delayed in achieving their educational goals. More information can be found at: www.mic3.net. The School Liaison is a parent's first line of support in solving Interstate Compact issues at the lowest level. In the majority of cases, the School Liaison can help solve the problem. In the few instances that they cannot, there are higher levels of support for families through the MIC3 State Commissioner. Families should always start with contacting the School Liaison.

The Military Student Identifier (MSI) is a datapoint established as part of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015. The stated purpose of ESSA is to “improve academic achievement of the disadvantaged.” This starts by identifying students from vulnerable segments of the population. Military children were identified, due to their struggles with disrupted learning and social-emotional struggles as a result of frequent moves.

This MSI data relies upon military-connected families to self-report military directly to their schools annually.

Now that states are required to collect and report assessment data for military-connected students teachers, administrators and schools will finally have a better, clearer picture of these students’ challenges and where they might need additional supports. Through identification, schools can better serve and support the needs of military-connected students.

The School Liaison is available to provide families interested in homeschooling their child(ren) with Florida state policies and regulations and is able to connect new families with established homeschool groups in the NSA Panama City community. Contact the School Liaison to learn more about your options.

If your command is looking for a Community Relations (COMREL) opportunity, contact the School Liaison. The School Liaison always has opportunities for sailors to volunteer in the local schools. The ways to volunteer are endless.

Families must contact their local VA Benefits office to discuss their benefits. You may access the VA Benefits Office Directory here.

You must first contact the Student Services Department at your neighborhood School District. There are five basic steps to become familiar with in the special education process:

1. Referral or request for evaluation
2. Evaluation
3. Eligibility determination
4. Individualized Educational Program (IEP) development
5. Progress Monitoring and IEP review

You must request information on Child Find and schedule an appointment to partake in the evaluation. If the child meets eligibility requirements, the school district will provide early intervention services.

Families currently enrolled in Florida's Early Steps (Birth to 3) program should work with their child's Case Manager to plan transition services.