Fort Gordon  Exceptional Family Member Program

All states and territories must provide early intervention services to children who have, or are at risk for having, developmental delays, from birth to their third birthday.

Most CONUS locations, local school districts or health departments provide these early intervention services. The program is called different names in different areas, but it is often referred to as Part C because that is the section of the law that pertains to early intervention. The Education Directory for Children with Special Needs has a list of resources specific to each state to help you determine who you should contact. Your installation EFMP Family Support provider can also answer your questions.

If you are moving OCONUS or to a CONUS location with a DODEA school (and you live on installation), your child will receive EIS through the Defense Department’s Educational and Developmental Intervention Services, or EDIS, program.

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

All states and territories provide special education and related services to eligible children between the ages of 3 through 21.

When 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. When a child transfers to another state, the receiving school must provide comparable services until an IEP review can determine if a new evaluation or IEP is appropriate.

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

• Education Directory for Children with Special Needs
• EFMP & Me digital tool
• Individualized Education Program & Moving
• Special Needs Parent Toolkit
• Special Needs Resources
• Exceptional Family Member Program videos

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.