HB 2892 Gave Military Families School Choice. Wylie ISD Gave Them a Ride

When a military family receives orders to a new duty station, choosing a school can be one of the first decisions they make before the boxes are unpacked.

For years, families arriving at Dyess Air Force Base knew that where they lived could determine which public school their children would attend. Since 2023, some military families have had another option.

Under House Bill 2892, children of eligible military service members can transfer to a public school campus or district chosen by their parents, provided they meet the law's requirements and comply with any district agreements.

The legislation passed the House and Senate with broad support. Though supported, lawmakers included a limitation: districts are not required to provide transportation for students who transfer under the law.

For many families, that completely changes whether school choice is actually possible. That transportation gap became a concern for Wylie Independent School District, one of the districts serving families stationed at Dyess.

Wylie recently began providing transportation from the base for military-connected students who attend its schools. The district’s decisions offer a brief look at a part of school choice that legislation overlooks: how parents get their child to school every day.

Before HB 2892, Military Families Had Minimal Options for Schools

Texas lawmakers had already tried to address some of the challenges military families face when enrolling children after a move.

House Bill 1597, authored by Rep. Stan Lambert and Rep. Brad Buckley, addressed the problem. It allowed a military family to establish residency for school-enrollment purposes using PCS orders before the family arrived at its new duty station. The bill passed and was signed into law in May 2019.

That law helped solve one part of the problem: getting military children into the enrollment process sooner. It did not give military families the ability to choose a different public school district. HB 2892 went a step further.

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Passing House Bill 2892: What Changed?

Rep. Brad Buckley authored House Bill 2892, and Sen. Mayes Middleton sponsored it; Texas legislators enacted it in 2023.

Under this statute, children of active-duty military personnel, reserve members, and Texas National Guard service members can transfer to a public school or school district their parents choose, provided they meet statutory requirements.

The legislation came with a limitation: school districts are not required to provide transportation for students transferring under the law. Families could have a new school option without a practical way to get their children there.

At Wylie ISD, that became a transportation problem the district decided to address.

Who Drove the Change at Wylie ISD?

Wylie ISD is one of the school districts families stationed at Dyess use, along with Abilene ISD.

Wylie began exploring transportation options to give military families stationed at Dyess another choice for their children's education. Ricky Bacon, speaking about the district's transportation program, said the goal wasn't necessarily to solve a problem, but to see whether families would use the option.

“We wanted to make sure that they just had that option,” Bacon said, explaining that attending Wylie schools meant a longer commute for families living on base.

Bacon also understands the challenges military children face when moving between schools. He grew up in a military family, with his father stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and later worked in education as a principal and coach.

“You can go from state to state and then, you know, I actually went from state to country,” he said. “That's a big difference just in curriculum-wise, you know where kids are and try to keep that consistency.”

The district initially expected only five to ten students to ride the bus. Instead, more than 55 showed up at the base recreation center on the first day. As interest grew, Wylie expanded the service from one bus to two, adding another driver and splitting students into grade-level groups.

Today, the district sends two buses to Dyess in the morning and afternoon. Students are picked up and dropped off at the base recreation center, giving parents a consistent location for school transportation.

Bacon estimated that at least 50 students used the transfer option under HB 2892 that school year, although he did not have an exact count. That estimate is separate from the district's total bus ridership.

What Does School Choice Actually Currently Look Like for Military Families?

For a military family, the school-selection process doesn't necessarily begin after the move. Parents often start researching districts while still living somewhere else.

HB 2892 allows eligible children to attend a preferred school outside their assigned district, but transportation isn't guaranteed.

Military work schedules, early report times, and deployments can make transportation more complicated than simply driving a child to school and picking them up in the afternoon.

That leaves families weighing the school itself against the logistics of getting there. A transfer may be ideal academically or socially. It may place a child in a school with programs a family values or in a district a family has found best fits their child’s needs.

The Limits of a Local Solution

Wylie's transportation program has also encountered a problem familiar to school districts across the country: staffing.

Bacon pointed out that the nationwide school bus driver shortage was one of the biggest hurdles to getting the route running. Finding drivers who could also complete the base access process added another step, even if it was a relatively small one.

Bacon noted Wylie wanted to support the military community and is committed to making the service work, even if that means he or the superintendent has to drive the route themselves. Wylie now provides both morning and afternoon transportation. According to Bacon, the earlier Military OneSource information indicating that an afternoon route was unavailable is outdated.

Wylie found a way to address one transportation barrier, but replicating the solution may not be easy for every district.

A route requires available buses, drivers, coordination with the installation, and enough interest to justify the service. For districts already struggling to staff existing routes, adding transportation for transfer students may be difficult even when the need is clear.

HB 2892: A Small Change With Large Implications

Wylie's bus route is a local response to a statewide policy, but the experience offers a useful example for other military communities considering similar school-choice policies.

HB 2892 gives eligible military families another option when deciding where their children will attend school. At Wylie, using that option required more than an enrollment decision. It required a bus, drivers, and a district willing to take on the logistics.

Transportation is only one part of the equation. Enrollment procedures, school capacity, access to information, and a family's work schedule can all affect whether a transfer works in practice.

Wylie's decisions offer a starting point for other military communities. Districts and installation school liaison officers should consider making transfer requirements easier to find, clearly explaining transportation options before families enroll, and begin working together with the community to understand the demand in their area. State lawmakers considering similar policies can also look beyond eligibility and enrollment and into the logistics that determine whether families can realistically use the resources available to them.

For families considering transferring schools, consider asking questions like: Is the school accepting transfers? How does enrollment work? Once the child is enrolled, how will they get to and from school each day?

For policymakers and school districts, the experience at Dyess offers a similar lesson. Expanding school-choice options may require attention to the practical barriers that follow approval. That doesn't necessarily mean every district needs to provide a bus, but it does mean transportation can determine whether a school-choice option is actually workable for a family.

At Wylie, the district decided that answering that question meant putting a bus on the road. The legislation created the choice. The district took charge to figure out how to help families use it.