Special Education/EIS

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

All Active-Duty AF members must complete this process, regardless of EFMP enrollment.

Step 1 – The Active-Duty Service Member (ADSM) is notified of a new assignment.

This assignment notification should guide you to log into vMPF to complete an “Initial Notification of Assignment Briefing”.

Step 2 – Complete Travel Screening Questionnaire within MyVector.

Following completion of your Initial Assignment Briefing within vMPF, a Travel Screening Questionnaire will load within MyVector. Please note that it takes 10-15 days for this screener to load following completion of the briefing. Additionally, a Travel Screening Questionnaire will not load until the ADSM’s Return No Later Than Date (RNLTD) is within eight months.  Meanwhile, Outbound Assignments at your current Military Personnel Flight (MPF) will load your vMPF Virtual Out-Processing Checklist.

To Complete the Travel Screening Questionnaire:

1. Type https://myvector.us.af.mil into a Google Chrome browser and click enter.
2. If you already have an account, you should be able to log in using your CAC.
3. If you do not have a current account, follow the directions below to sign up:
   1. Select “Sign Up” on the right-hand side of the screen.
   2. Follow the directions to create an account.
4. Once logged into MyVector, the ADSM should be able to see the Travel Screening Questionnaire within their “Notifications/Alerts” tab.
5. Select the blue “Click Here” to begin the screening process.

General Information Surrounding Travel Screening Questionnaire Completion:

• Single ADSM’s with no dependent’s are not required to complete the questionnaire.
• MyVector will identify how many dependents the ADSM has and whether the ADSM has any EFMP enrolled dependents.
• If an ADSM does not have any EFMP enrolled family members and is projected to PCS to a CONUS location, they should be automatically cleared for PCS to their projected duty station.
• If an ADSM does not have any EFMP enrolled family members, but is projected to PCS to an OCONUS location, they will be required to complete
• ADSM’s with EFMP enrolled family members will be prompted to complete the FMTS application and must receive a travel determination prior to proceeding to their projected duty station, regardless of whether they are projected to PCS to a CONUS or OCONUS location.
• If prompted to complete an FMTS application:
  • All dependent’s listed under the sponsor in DEERS must be included in the application, regardless of their geographical location. Dependents may be geographically separated from the ADSM, but as long as they remain under the ADSM in DEERS they must be medically cleared via MyVector for all projected duty stations.
• If 10-15 days have passed from completion of the Initial Assignment Briefing and the ADSM’s RNLTD is within eight months, but the Travel Screening Questionnaire is not visible, the ADSM should contact their local EFMP Medical Office. They will be able to view the status of the Travel Screening Questionnaire. Additionally, they may be able to reach out to AFPC to have a screener force loaded in the event of short notice orders, OTS selection, or EFMP/humanitarian reassignment.

Early Intervention Services

EIS provides specialized services and programs to enhance the development of infants and toddlers (birth to age 3) when there is a concern about how a child sees, hears, moves, talks, sleep, eats, plays, or interacts with family and friends. Early Intervention is provided by the Educational & Developmental Intervention Services (EDIS) flight at RAF Lakenheath for RAF Mildenhall, RAF Lakenheath, and RAF Feltwell. In the United States, these services are provided by either state/county programs or school districts as part of the federally mandated and supported Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). These programs have various names in the states and may be called "Part C" programs. Services are tailored to the needs of the child and family and are provided in the child's natural environment (home or daycare, for example).

Parents who have questions and/or concerns about their child's development should contact EDIS (located at RAF Lakenheath 011-44-1638-52-3308). A medical referral is not necessary.

Parents of children who already receive Early Intervention services should hand-carry a copy of the Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) and most current evaluation reports to the new location.

Services for children from three years of age who require special education services due to a developmental delay in language, cognitive, fine/gross motor, and/or emotional/behavioral skills is offered through the Preschool Services for Children with Disabilities (PSCD) program at Lakenheath Elementary School. Research indicates that, by providing support and education to children and families at an early stage of development, (1) the child's development will not be as significantly delayed as it would be if left unattended until school age or older, (2) the stress for the family of having a child with a special need is lessened, and (3) early intervention programs are cost-effective in that the need for services later can be prevented or reduced. Anyone wanting additional information on this program should contact the Case Study Committee (CSC) Coordinator or an administrator at Lakenheath Elementary School (DSN: 226-3721).

DoDEA Special Education

In DoDEA's Community Strategic Plan, the vision statement, the mission statement, and the guiding principles each embraces the notion that ALL students will be successful in our schools. Special educators work collaboratively with general educators and share the responsibility for ensuring that students with identified disabilities will meet with success. ALL students can learn when the instruction is geared to their strengths, and they are given sufficient opportunity to learn.

Special education is specially designed instruction, support, and services provided to students with an identified disability requiring an individually designed instructional program to meet their individual learning needs. The purpose of special education is to enable students to successfully develop to their fullest potential by providing a free appropriate public education in compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) as implemented by DoD.

DoDEA Regulation 1342.13; Eligibility Requirements for Education of Elementary and Secondary School-age Dependents in Overseas Areas

https://www.dodea.edu/Offices/PolicyAndLegislation/upload/RG-1342-13-Eligibility-Requirements-Overseas-CH-3-final-27-Oct-2021.pdf

In DoDEA, special education and related services are available to eligible students who are 3-21 years old. To be eligible for special education, the following must apply:

• The child must have an identified disability;
• The disability must adversely (negatively) affect the child's educational performance; and
• The child must require a specially designed instructional program.

Special Education with DoDEA