Moving is hard for everyone -- especially kids. What makes it even more challenging is when a lack of communication between schools leaves student statuses in limbo.

The Military Interstate Children's Compact Commission was formed in 2006 to counter this dilemma. It unifies the policies of all districts in member states to prevent confusion and frustration for transferring military kids.

The compact affects 1.1 million individuals across the country -- both homeschooled students and those enrolled in public and private schools, Fort Jackson school liaison Fred Henley said. It works to "level the playing field." It prevents the military lifestyle from interfering with education.

In 2006, the Council of State Governments, government officials, and education and military-based organizations collaborated to create the commission to "address some of the educational challenges transitioning children of military families face."

In 2010, South Carolina joined 30 other states in adopting it. By 2014, all 50 states and Washington D.C. had joined in. 2016 marked the beginning of the first and ongoing three-year strategic plan.

Before the compact, the process of sharing school records was unregulated. A memorandum of agreement guided the process, but it didn't "transcend" state lines, Henley said.

Enrollment, placement, attendance, eligibility and graduation were all impacted by the lack of collaboration. The Commission has addressed these issues.

MIC3 doesn't require schools to collect additional data; it just enforces that they share relevant information in a timely fashion.

The Compact ensures parents can bring some records, like grades and schedules, with them immediately and that official records are sent within a ten-day timeframe. This creates standard operating procedures to expedify the sharing process, saving money, time and unnecessary hassle.

"Take the unofficial records, honor that, and make changes later if need be," Henley described it.

Before MIC3, students could be stuck in the wrong courses for up to four months; some schools refused to accept hand-carried copies of records until the official ones arrived.

Kids often missed out on key elements of their education -- from gifted classes to special education courses -- during the transition.

MIC3 changed the dynamic.

The compact ensures, for instance, that a student's Individualized education plan is initially honored by the receiving school. If the district is unable to meet the requirements of the IEP, it must place the student elsewhere, Henley said.

MIC3 also allows Local Education Agencies to waive some of the requirements for students in honor programs. Districts nationwide don't offer the same courses, so transferring high school students can't always finish out their honor tracks.

Graduation requirements, too, are more flexible for military students, under the Compact.

Students transferring from one state to another during their senior year may have met all of the requirements of their former institution to graduate, but not their new one. The school must honor the previous one's requirements so students "don't lose out on a year," said Fort Jackson school liaison Gary Williams.

Immunizations are another realm the compact addresses, since vaccination requirements vary from one state to the next. Compact-eligible students are given extra time -- 30 days from enrollment -- to get immunized to prevent a lapse in enrollment.

"It's not the same thing for their civilian counterparts," Henley said.

The age of enrollment from a previous state is also honored at a receiving school, Henley said. Subject to testing, if five-year-olds can start first grade in the states they're moving from, they have to be able to start first grade at five in their new home states. It doesn't matter if the cut off age is six there, for example.

MIC3 alleviates the fear that schools may not work together for the benefit of the child.

Henley and Williams make sure the compact is adhered to in school districts surrounding Fort Jackson.

They are tasked with educating the public on MIC3. Some military families miss out on compact opportunities because "they simply have not heard of it," Henley said.

Informing families of their rights is one of their main goals.

"We have to make sure that it's implemented," Henley added.

"If (schools) are not (complying), we ask the tough questions," Williams said. Normally, they face few problems and schools get educated "real fast" because they don't want to be out of order with a Department of Defense policy.

"We don't meet resistance from our schools," Henley said. Once they find out the rights of military students, they accommodate.

Enforcement and compliance measures, along with the layout of the governance structure, are included in the compact.

Though Henley and Williams can't force schools to follow the regulations, national governance powers can.

"You don't really want those phone calls," Williams said.

The tools used by the compact are inexpensive. The estimated cost is just $1 per child of an active duty military parent. That means the total budget of about $630,000 for all 50 states.

Since 2008, funding has been based on this estimate. Each participating state pays the $1 per relevant student, or $2,000 if there are fewer than 2,000 students of active duty military parents in the state. The amount collected is the Commission's total budget.

When asked why the price tag for commission activities is so low, Henley responded, "I don't know, but we like that."