Fort McCoy  Exceptional Family Member Program

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.

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.

As a condition of funding under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Wisconsin educational agencies are required to establish written policies and procedures for the implementation of state and federal education requirements. The state special education statutes, subchapter V, chapter 115, Wisconsin Statutes, incorporate the statutory provisions of Part B of the IDEA. Local educational agencies in Wisconsin must comply with IDEA's regulations.

Per subchapter V, chapter 115, Wisconsin Statutes, a "child with a disability" may, at the discretion of the local educational agency and consistent with department rules, include a child who, by reason of his or her significant developmental delay, needs special education and related services. Related services means transportation and such developmental, corrective and other supportive services as may be required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education, including speech-language pathology and audiology services; psychological services; physical and occupational therapy; recreation, including therapeutic recreation; social work services; counseling services, including rehabilitative counseling; orientation and mobility services; medical services for diagnostic and evaluative purposes only; and the early identification and assessment of disabling conditions in children. For more information, please contact each specific school district Educational and Developmental Intervention Services (EDIS) special education point of contact.

Educational and Developmental Intervention Services (EDIS) is a military medical department program for children from birth through 2 years of age who are developmentally delayed.

Federal Law: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

Regulation: DoD Instruction 1342.12, "Provision of Early Intervention and Special Education Services to Eligible DoD Dependents," June 17, 2015.

In the United States, EDIS operates only on military installations that have a DDESS school. EDIS provides services only to families who live on the installation. If a family lives off the installation, the children would receive early intervention from the local county program.

In overseas locations, EDIS operates where there is a DoDDS school. Whether a family lives on or off the installation, the child can still receive EDIS services.

Overseas, the ASD for Health Affairs has assigned each of the Military Services a geographic area of responsibility for EDIS. For example, the Navy serves all of Okinawa and mainland Japan, whether it is a Navy installation or not.

In some areas, one EDIS serves two or more communities.
E.g., Quantico serves Quantico and Dahlgren