Special Education/ EIS

Exceptional family member program

The Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) is mandatory for all family members who have been identified with a special medical or educational need. Enrolling in the EFMP ensures that the family member’s medical needs will be considered during the assignment coordination process.

Birth to 3 years old

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires all States and territories to provide early intervention services to children from birth to age three who are developmentally delayed, or who are at high risk of being developmentally delayed. Early intervention services may be provided by local school districts or health departments. There is no common name across States for the programs, but you may hear them referred to as Part C programs (because Part C is the section of the IDEA that pertains to early intervention).

The National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center provides a list of State Part C directors and funded programs at their web site. Military OneSource can identify local early intervention programs for you.

• Parents of children who 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.

3 to 21 years old

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires all States and Territories to provide special education services to children who are from 3 through 21 year of age. Each local school district has a special education director, and each school should have a case study committee or school based committee (terms differ) that attends to special education students’ needs.

Parents of children receiving special education and related services should hand-carry all pertinent school and medical documents to include their children’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) and current testing and evaluation reports to the new school.

The IDEA requires that if a child transfers to a district in the same state, the receiving school must provide comparable services to those in the child’s IEP from the sending district’s until the new school develops and implements a new IEP. If a child transfers to another State, the receiving district must provide comparable services to those in the child’s IEP from the sending district until the receiving district completes an evaluation and creates a new IEP.

Others who can help you

Parent Training and Information Centers Each state is home to at least one Parent Training and Information Center (PTI). PTIs serve families of children and young adults from birth to age 22 with all disabilities: physical, cognitive, emotional, and learning. They help families obtain appropriate education and services for their children with disabilities; work to improve education results for all children; train and inform parents and professionals on a variety of topics; resolve problems between families and schools or other agencies; and connect children with disabilities to community resources that address their needs. The Technical Assistance Alliance for Parent Centers provides addresses and phone number of the centers in your state.

STOMP (Specialized Training of Military Parents) is a federally funded Parent Training and Information (PTI) Center established to assist military families who have children with special education or health needs. The staff of the STOMP Project are parents of children who have disabilities and have experience in raising their children in military communities and traveling with their spouses to different locations.

Washington PAVE STOMP Project 6316 So. 12th St. Tacoma, WA 98465 253-565-2266 (v/tty) 1-800-5-PARENT (v/tty) Fax: 253-566-8052 Email

Installation specific information

Special Needs Identification and Assignment Coordination (SNIAC) program

The Special Needs Identification and Assignment Coordination (SNIAC), formally called the ExceptionalFamily Member Program (EFMP) is mandatory for all family members who have been identified with a special medical or educational need. Enrolling in the SNIAC ensures that the family member’s medical needs will be considered during the assignment coordination process.

Special Needs Programming

The Minot AFB Airman and Family Readiness Center (A&FRC) staff can assist with on/off base information and referral services for military with special needs family members. We understand that parents are their child’s best asset and we are here to support each family as they work in the best interest of their child. The A&FRC staff can provide families with material to learn more about a family member’s condition, help families to explore their options, provide links to a variety of local/state/national service agencies, and bring training that will help families become more knowledgeable thus stronger parent advocates.

Visit the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) – A&FRC website to obtain general information, read our articles, utilize some of the many tools to better understand and manage the care your child receives and to see our special events that are scheduled. We have books dedicated to special needs issues within the Special Needs Library. See the Resource Listing we have created to make it easy for you to find services for your child.

The A&FRC will continue to work to improve support our special needs children receive in and around the Minot community. We have formed a Special Needs Committee that consists of professionals representing various agencies. This committee meets regularly to discuss ways in which to bring programming to military families. We invite military families to attend these meetings so we can obtain your feedback to make this program an even stronger one on Minot AFB.

Local community information

The Souris Valley Special Services are required to meet the state and federal regulations concerning Special needs. Please contact the Souris Valley Special Services or the Principal of your child’s school to request services.