Military Children Deserve Better: Partners in PROMISE® Research Exposes Gaps in Education Support

Partners in PROMISE® Research Exposes Gaps in Education Support

NORFOLK, VA, UNITED STATES, April 9, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Every April, the nation recognizes the sacrifices military children make alongside their families. This year, Partners in PROMISE is marking the Month of the Military Child with something concrete: data that puts a finer point on what those sacrifices actually cost, including family and military readiness.

To share these findings, Partners in PROMISE will host a Military Special Education Survey Results Briefing Webinar on April 15, 2026, from 10:00–11:00 AM EST, presented in partnership with Humana Military. The virtual event will highlight key insights from the organization’s latest survey and provide a platform for discussion around solutions. Registration: https://bit.ly/PiP2025SurveyBrief

The findings focus on a problem the organization has tracked for five years: military families trying to access special education systems and related healthcare services, and repeatedly hitting walls. The story the data tells is frustrating but unsurprising to anyone who has lived it: these kids, whose parents serve in the military, show up ready, and the systems don’t.

When a military family receives Permanent Change of Station (PCS) orders, everything moves, including children who depend on Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and specialized services. What doesn’t always move with them is the support they had before. Services restart from scratch. Paperwork gets lost. Progress stalls.

What the Data Shows:
Interrupted Access to Services: Military families report that relocations routinely trigger delays and disruptions in special education services, sometimes for months at a time.

Inconsistent Program Implementation: The Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) looks different depending on where a family is stationed, and those inconsistencies have real consequences.

Family and Caregiver Burden: Military spouses and caregivers are filling the gaps themselves, spending hours advocating for services that should simply be in place, often at the expense of their own careers and well-being.

Accountability Gaps: Military families are not asking for special treatment. They are asking for consistency and oversight that ensures their children don’t regress every time they move.

“Month of the Military Child is both a celebration and a call to action,” said Tricia Ross, Director of Communications at Partners in PROMISE. “Military-connected children are capable. They are not the problem. The systems that were built to support them are and that’s what we’re working to change.”
This April, Partners in PROMISE is calling on communities, educators, policymakers, and military leaders to move beyond symbolic gestures and take real action. A child’s zip code or their parent’s deployment orders should never determine the quality of their education. But right now, for too many military families, it does.

About Partners in PROMISE
Founded in 2020, Partners in PROMISE is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to protecting the rights of military children in special education. Through large-scale surveys, research partnerships, and advocacy, the organization turns lived experience into data-driven recommendations that equip families, inform leaders, and empower military-connected students to thrive.
For more information, visit www.thepromiseact.org.

Tricia Ross
Partners in PROMISE
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