The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires States to report on the academic progress of military-connected students and other important data that will tell military parents, advocates for military children, and Parent Centers who serve military families how well these highly-mobile students are doing in school. Read on for expected outcomes, links to articles on the topic, and the key excerpt from ESSA.
Continue reading “State Report Cards Will Include Military Students”
JAG stands for Judge Advocate General, and the JAG Corps (sometimes just known as JAG) is the legal branch of the military. Officers in the JAG work as legal advisors to a specific command, but their services are also available to individual service members and their families. When a military family has a child with special educational or medical needs, the JAG officer can be an invaluable resource. Families can be advised on their legal rights with respect to their child’s education (including differences between public and Department of Defense schools), legal preparation for deployment, Supplemental Social Security (SSI) and estate planning.
Continue reading “What is JAG and how does it relate to Special Education?”
In case you haven’t seen it: The Office of Community Support for Military Families with Special Needs (OSN) and the Department of Defense Education Activity share what their offices do, and how they support your work with military families. It is a great introduction to key military programs, and helpful whether you are new to your Parent Center, new to working with military families, or are a seasoned professional. Continue reading “Webinar: What the Office of Community Support for Military Families with Special Needs (OSN) and Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) do for Military Families”
Interstate Compact Military Presentation by Rick Masters, General Counsel for MIC3, the Military Interstate Children’s Compact Commission. Includes Question and Answer session about this important legal protection for military-connected children in public schools K-12. Includes a handout for military parents.
Everything from first contact to going through the gate–tips and advice from military family members, parent center staff, and guidelines from Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security.
Continue reading “Working with Military Installations: Tools and Tips for Parent Center Staff”
TRICARE, the healthcare entitlement program for military families, presents several quick videos on “What is TRICARE?”, “TRICARE Options for National Guard and Reserve Members”, TRICARE Extended Health Care Option (ECHO) – important for certain families who have children with disabilities- and TRICARE’s Autism Demonstration Project.
U.S. Department of Education Restraint & Seclusion policies by State (external link).
Another resources which has been recommended by several Parent Centers is available through The Autism National Committee (Autcom.org): How Safe is the Schoolhouse? (external link). This resource is updated through July, 2019.
Federally funded Parent Training and Information Centers (PTIs) are found in every State, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Large States have more than one PTI. In addition, thirty federally funded Community Parent Resource Centers (CPRCs) focus on unserved or underserved populations throughout the United States and territories. Together, the PTIs and CPRCs (collectively referred to as Parent Centers) can play a vital role in supporting your work with Exceptional Family Members in your communities. The following information is a quick fact sheet on what a federally funded Parent Center is required to do through their grants and some suggestions on how you can utilize them effectively.
The U.S. Armed Forces use rank and insignia to classify and categorize each service member from Private to General. Learning how to recognize and use these identifiers will help the Parent Center staff when working with installation service members.
What does this mean to the Parent Center? A member’s rank/insignia is where they are in the chain of command, what leadership responsibilities they have.
Military families have unique concerns around the supports and services needed by their child with special needs. On the one hand, they have guaranteed medical coverage through TRICARE, the military health care system and its range of special programs. On the other, there are distinct limits to coverage and programs which may leave military families without some essential supports and services. Medicaid can be an option for some military families which they may not have considered, and which Parent Center staff can help them explore.
Continue reading “Medicaid: Referring Military Families to Supports and Services”