Schools & Education
School Liaison Officers (SLO's)
School Liaison Office
The JBSA School Liasion Office at Fort Sam Houston, Lackland and Randolph serve approximately 25,000 military-connected children located in 23 public school districts, 50 Charter Schools, 38 Magnet Schools and the 48 campuses of the Archdiocese of San Antonio Department of Catholic Schools. They proudly serve all branches of the military to provide a link between military families on and off installation schools and provide services that enable families to be more involved in their child's education. For more information or to receive a welcome packet please contact either of the JBSA School Liaison Office locations:
Fort Sam Houston
2010 Stanley Road, Bldg. 2797, 78234
210-221-2214 or 210-221-2256
DSN:471-2256/2214
Lackland
2100 Kenly Ave., Bldg. 1249, 78236
210-671-3722
DSN:473-3722
Randolph
555 F Street West, 78150
210-652-5321
DSN:487-5321
Fax:210-652-3166
Local School Districts and Boards:
School begins no earlier than the fourth Monday in August and ends in June. Texas school districts are required to provide at least 180 days of instruction (Section 25.081, Texas Education Code). However, some districts have a waiver from the Commissioner of Education allowing them to substitute a few of those days for teacher professional development days.
There are 23 Independent School Districts that surround JBSA and we have over 25000 military affiliated youth who attend them. Our largest districts hosting military youth are Northside, Northeast, Schertz-Cibolo and Judson ISD. All 3 bases within the JBSA have ISDs located on their installations and the policies are very similar.
Each location hosts its own coterminous school district, meaning the boundaries are the boundaries of the installation. Students whose parents physically reside on either installation have automatic right to attend the Installation ISD schools; students whose parents are assigned to either installation, but reside off-installation, can be accepted as transfer students, but the parents must provide transportation. FSH ISD and RFISD both accept transfer waiver applications in grades K-12, Lackland ISD only accepts transfer applications for grades 9-12.
Children are eligible to attend the Installation ISD while the parents are living in temporary quarters on base. If permanent housing is located off base, the child must apply for a waiver to remain in the ISD until the end of the school year. During that time, parents are responsible transportation to and from school. For further information see the ISD websites.
Fort Sam Houston ISD, Lackland ISD or Randolph Field ISD are not part of the Department of Defense school system, they are independent school districts subject to the jurisdiction of the Texas Education Agency. As the district's boundaries are coterminous with those of JBSA-FSH, JBSA-Lackland and JBSA-Randolph, the facilities of which by law are exempt from property taxation, the district has no taxable base; thus, funding is provided from Department of Education Impact Aid funds and state public school foundation funding.
Please contact the School Liaison Office prior to leaving your current installation to receive our welcome packet with valuable information and resources to make your move to JBSA smooth.
General Information
Students enrolling in public school must attend the school in the area in which they reside. There is no busing of students across district boundaries. There are a few exceptions to this TEA law. Randolph Field ISD, Fort-Sam Houston ISD and Lackland ISD all allow transfer applications based on availability. (Lackland ISD - Grades 9-12 only). Magnet High Schools have an early spring application process for the following school year.
Pre-Kindergarten: Child must be 4 years old on or before September 1. Most school districts offer a half-day prekindergarten program. Children of active duty military are automatically eligible for enrollment.
Kindergarten: Child must be 5 years old on or before September 1 of the school year.
First Grade: Child must be 6 years old on or before September 1 of the school year.
The Interstate Compact for the Education of Military Children provides guidance for exceptions to the Age Requirements. Contact your School Liaison Office for details.
Immunization Requirements
No Shots...No School...No Kidding!
Texas State law requires students attending school to be immunized against certain vaccine-preventable diseases. To find the current requirements for Texas Schools, please contact the School Liaison Office
The Interstate Compact for the Education of Military Children provides guidance for exceptions to the Immunization Requirements. Contact your School Liaison Office for details.
Homes Near Base
