Special Needs Education

Refer to OCONUS Directory to determine what Special Need services are available at specific locations.

If your child has special needs (i.e., medical, emotional, physical or mental), consider the level of your child's special needs.

To enter into any Child and Youth Services (CYS) program, a Special Needs Resource Team (SNRT) determines the appropriate placement of all special needs children. Thus, you may need to answer the following questions:

Does the program/provider serve other children with similar needs?

Does the staff/provider have appropriate expectations for children with special needs?

Is the program/provider able to make the changes to meet your child's needs?

Is the staff/provider trained to care for children with your child's specific conditions?

If there is no appropriate placement for your child within CYS, Central Enrollment and Registration (CER) can link you to agencies on and off post which help you locate the type of service(s) you need. CER helps patrons locate child care and youth supervision options when waiting lists exist for CYS programs and services.

Central Enrollment and Registration may refer you to the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP). EFMP is a mandatory enrollment program that works with other military and civilian agencies to provide comprehensive and coordinated community support, housing and education, medical, and personnel services to families with special needs. You also may be linked to a local office of the Child Find system.

Your School Liaison Officer will refer you to the local school districts and they can assist you in understanding the Special Education process. When you have general questions about special education, contact the following personnel at your local school district:

The Teacher has information about your child's current progress, class routines, behavior issues, and individualized education program (IEP) implementation.

The Principal has information about school policies and procedures, records, schedules, IEP implementation, Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) committee issues, and discipline procedures.

The Special Education Administrator/Director has information about district special education procedures and policies, can provide clarification on concerns about implementation of the IEP, and can handle the request for an independent educational evaluation.