Fort Gordon  Exceptional Family Member Program

The IDEA requires that all states and territories provide special education and related services to eligible children between the ages of 3 through 21. Each local school district has a special education director, and each school should have an individualized education program, or IEP, team or school-based committee that supports students with special education needs.

The IDEA requires that if a child transfers to a different district in the same state, the new school must provide a free, appropriate public education, including comparable services, until the previously held IEP is adopted or a new one is developed and implemented. If a child transfers to another state, the receiving district must provide comparable services until the receiving district completes an evaluation and creates a new IEP, if appropriate.

If you are moving and your child receives special education and related services, you should hand-carry all pertinent school and medical documents, including the IEP and current evaluation reports. Hand-carrying these documents ensures that they are not lost and allows the new school district to begin the process as soon as you move.

The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education, offers the Parent Center Hub – also known as the Center for Parent Information and Resources – which has collections of links to serve families and adults with special needs from birth through age 26. They assist families in getting appropriate education and services for their children, work to improve education services for all children, train and inform parents and professionals, resolve problems between families and schools or other agencies and connect those with disabilities to community resources. Find your local parenting center and more by visiting their website.

You can also try these resources from Military OneSource:

• EFMP & Me digital tool
• Special Needs Parent Toolkit download
• Special needs resources 
• Education Directory for Children with Special Needs
• Exceptional Family Member Program videos 

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, requires all states and territories to provide early intervention services to children from birth through 3 years of age who have, or are at risk for having, developmental delays. 

Local school districts or health departments often provide these early intervention services. The program is called different names in different areas, but it is often referred to as Part C because it is the section of the law that pertains to early intervention. The national Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center provides a list of State Part C coordinators and funded programs on their website. 

When moving, you should hand-carry copies of your child's individual family service plan, or IFSP, and the most current evaluation reports to your new home to ensure they are not lost.

Richmond County Schools provide services to special needs students ages 3-21 in a continuum of educational environments: from resource class placements in the students' home schools to full day programs in specialized facilities. Students receive evaluations in all suspected areas of disability. The student's Individual Educational Plan (IEP) determines the type and level of required services. Students and parents are afforded all due process procedural safeguards as outlined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Richmond County Schools provide services through the following eligibility classifications:

• Autism
• Deaf/Blind
• Deaf/Hard of Hearing
• Emotional and Behavioral Disorder
• Intellectual Disabilities
• Mild Intellectual Disabilities
• Moderate Intellectual Disabilities
• Severe Intellectual Disabilities
• Profound Intellectual Disabilities
• Orthopedic Impairment
• Other Health Impairment
• Severe Emotional and Behavioral Disorder
• Significant Developmental Delay
• Specific Learning Disability
• Speech - Language Impairment
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Visual Impairment

Parents with special needs children can facilitate the transition from their child's previous schools placement to enrollment in Richmond County Schools by insuring that they have a copy of their child's current Individual Educational Plan (IEP). This document contains the information that is essential for determining the most appropriate placement for the student here in Richmond County.

When a special needs student is enrolled, an Interim Placement is generally made to provide the student with the support he or she requires, based on the information in his/her IEP. The Interim Placement allows Richmond County to provide special education services to the student for 30 school days while obtaining any information necessary to establish the student's continued program eligibility under Georgia Department of Education Guidelines. Parents can facilitate this process by obtaining copies of their child's most current Eligibility Reports; Educational Evaluations; Psychological Evaluations; and as appropriate, Medical Records. Sharing this information along with the IEP, upon registration, facilitates the placement decision process. Once all eligibility information is collected an eligibility / IEP meeting is scheduled to determine appropriate programming for the student under Georgia guidelines.

The procedure for obtaining an Interim Placement for your child

• Determine your zoned school
• Bring copies of your child's IEP and any supporting data to the school when you register your child
• The school will review this information and forward it to the Special Education Office to determine Interim Services. You will be asked to sign a Release of Confidential information at this time.
• Within 5 days of the receipt of the information at Special Education you will be contacted to attend an Interim IEP Meeting at either your child's zoned school or at the school where the most appropriate services are available.

At the Interim IEP Meeting the team will review the child's former services and discuss appropriate service models and modifications. Parents will be asked to sign permissions for interim placement and consent for evaluation. The school then forwards all the paperwork to Special Education for distribution to the appropriate service providers.

If you have any questions please contact the Richmond County Special Education Office at 706-731-8787.