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How soon will these provisions go into effect? “These changes will roll out gradually,” Hebdon explains. “The (new) four-year assignments will happen as military personnel are reassigned at the end of their current assignments. Implementation will take time as the military must balance this with managing overall manpower and mobility issues. It may also take time to hire and train new case workers and to develop a more efficient reporting and record-keeping system. I hope they’ll be diligent in collecting data that measures how well the new systems are working,” says Hebdon.
What About Section 504 Plans?
When a child with learning difficulties doesn’t qualify for special education under IDEA, then a Section 504 plan may provide helpful services and accommodations. Section 504, a civil rights protection, is valid in the United States and its territories, but not in foreign “host countries” where military families may be stationed.To remedy this discrepancy, in 2000 President Bill Clinton signed an executive order that requires the basic non-discrimination provisions of Section 504 be observed by DoDEA schools in host countries (except in military academies and other schools with strict national security criteria). The DoDEA Accommodations Planis the equivalent of a Section 504 plan in the United States.
Response to Intervention and Military Kids
In recent years, a system of teaching and support called Response to Intervention (RTI) has gained momentum in K-12 schools. While RTI is a general education initiative, it has important implications for students with LD. Instead of relying on measures of discrepancy between a student’s potential and his academic performance, RTI is the practice of providing high-quality instruction and interventions matched to student need, monitoring progress frequently to make changes in instruction or goals, and applying child response data to important educational decisions. Unlike the discrepancy model (often called a “wait-to-fail” approach), RTI can help teachers recognize and address learning disabilities before they become a problem and the child experiences frustration and failure in school.And now, Hebdon reports, “The DoDEA is looking into using RTI in the schools it governs. I think this is a great idea, because military kids tend to be over-identified as having learning disabilities simply because they are frequently transferred from state to state, where education standards and instruction vary. While those students try to adjust to a new set of rules, they appear to flounder and teachers assume they have LD. Using RTI to identify problems at a younger age and address them without special education whenever possible would help alleviate this problem.”
Parents Are Their Children’s Best Advocates
“Military parents are, overall, excellent and effective advocates for their kids with special needs,” Hebdon notes. “In fact, military families participate in their children’s IEP meetings at a very high rate — 92%. This is partly because the military allows parents time off (with no penalty) to attend such meetings.”Learn some practical ways you can help support your “military child” with special needs.
Additional Resources
- Specialized Training of Military Parents (STOMP)
- Military Homefront: Department of Defense Special Needs Parent Toolkit
- Military Homefront: Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP)
- Department of Defense Domestic Dependant Elementary and Secondary Schools: Special Education Services
- State-by-State Education Resource Center
- Changing Schools and IEPs
Kristin Stanberry is a writer and editor specializing in parenting, education, and consumer health/wellness issues. Her areas of expertise include learning disabilities and AD/HD, topics which she wrote about extensively for Schwab Learning and GreatSchools.This article was made possible by a grant from Oak Foundation.
