Finding Inclusion as a Military Child with a Disability

Tis the season to PCS! Your husband is on TDY, so it’s up to you and one power of attorney to secure the movers, sell the house, organize all 18,000 pounds of stuff you plan to move, and sell that couch that won’t fit in your new house in a new state. You can’t see out the minivan because 3 kids, 2 dogs, and all your personal items must make it across country to your moms for the next two months before you find permanent digs at your new duty station.

Military families are extremely resilient. We bloom where we’re planted. We often make fast friends, throw ourselves into new careers or hobbies, play tourist in our new town, while leaving it better than when we arrived.

Military life also presents real stressors and challenges, especially for families with children with disabilities. The Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP), a.k.a. the PCS gatekeeper, throws in a whole new wrench into the works. Orders often center completely around the military child with a disability, rather than the active duty member. You can’t go to your dream duty station, Germany, because the services are supposedly inadequate for your child. You have to say goodbye to that excellent Speech Pathologist who did PROMPT, and the gap in service while moving could mean a real gap in your child’s communications skills. You heard from another military wife that the schools in the neighborhood you want to live in don’t even follow the law, much less do inclusion.

How can a military family advocate for full inclusion for their child with a significant disability when they’re dealing with so many other moving parts? How does a military child maintain a consistently inclusive educational career when they move every 2 to 4 years?

These are two very difficult questions that I’m not sure I can tackle in one post or even have a complete answer to. My hope is that I can post a few tips that works for my son with Down syndrome, and other military families will chime in with what’s worked for them. I’d love to do a follow-up post with other family’s experiences. Here it goes!

3 Tips to Finding Inclusion As a Military Child with a Disability:

1. Secure a solid IEP before you PCS:
   • Use those military orders to your advantage. Dangling the orders in the face of your child’s current IEP team if needed. Tell them you’re moving so writing in a full time paraprofessional, daily communication with parents, and modified homework given to the student a week before it’s due into the accommodations section of the IEP should be no big deal. Sometimes this is all an IEP team needs to hear to make some real effective changes to the IEP.
   • The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires the new school district you move to to provide a comparable IEP for at least 30 days. This gives you time to make your case to keep the current IEP or improve upon it. The new IEP team must also give you a Prior Written Notice (PWN) explaining WHY they won’t follow the IEP from out of state. Many schools don’t want to make a denial of comparable services in writing, so make sure you ask for the PWN.
2. Stalk Social Media Groups at your new duty station:
   • Social media opens up a whole new world for families of children with disabilities. There’s a closed group for everything, and could be a great starting point to find an inclusive school.
   • WARNING: some parents’ idea of inclusion may not be in line with your idea of inclusion. I had to learn this the hard way when my son started preschool at our duty station in Ohio. Although the public preschool included 50% of students without IEPs, starting in kindergarten kids were segregated. Luckily, we PCSed before I had to fight for inclusion.
   • Be specific on social media: ask what percentage of time their child spends in general education. You’re looking for at least 80% or more. Ask if proper supports are given, and if the school actually follows through with their child’s IEP.
3. Get Serious with a Freedom of Information Request:
   • Did you know you can find out how many restraints or seclusion cases a district had in a year? Or how many due process cases a district had and the outcome? If the district had any Civil Rights Complaints made against them. All of this is public information, so once you’ve chosen one or two schools get down to business with a freedom of information request.
   • A request through the district or state office of education (special education office) can reveal so much about the school you’re hoping to choose. Anything from state complaints to individual employee complaints. Go to the state’s Parent Training and Information Center to find out how to make the request for public records in your new state.
   • Side note: this is completely different than looking at school rankings on line (think “Great Schools” and other such sites). Often the traditional rankings tell you nothing about how the district does special education. In fact, a very high rated school in Ohio was notorious for segregating kids with IEPs. So beware!

Lastly, reach out to a local special education advocate to get their take on districts that are following the law and including kids with disabilities in general education. The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates has a directory of advocates by state. Advocates often are filing state complaints and civil rights complaints all the time, so they will know which school districts to stay away from.

I called a local advocate before we planned to PCS to Washington state, and I’m still friends with her today. My son is also 93% included in general education with appropriate supports in a state that is ranked 3rd lowest in the nation for inclusion. Doing your homework pays off!

What tips do you have for military families PCSing with a child with a disability? How did you find an inclusive school? What do you wish you would have done differently?