{"id":5891,"date":"2011-11-14T10:24:41","date_gmt":"2011-11-14T14:24:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/?p=5891"},"modified":"2011-11-14T10:24:41","modified_gmt":"2011-11-14T14:24:41","slug":"12-things-every-jag-military-parent-should-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/12-things-every-jag-military-parent-should-know\/","title":{"rendered":"12 Things Every JAG (&#038; Military Parent) Should Know"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_pop\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/gallery\/share-button-gray.png\" style=\"border:0px\" alt=\"Share\" \/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"StumbleUpon\",\"Digg\",\"Reddit\",\"Bebo\",\"Delicious\");var hupso_icon_type = \"labels\";var hupso_background=\"#FFFFFF\";var hupso_border=\"#FFFFFF\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_twitter_via=\"wrightslaw\";var hupso_url=\"\";var hupso_title=\"12%20Things%20Every%20JAG%20%28%26%20Military%20Parent%29%20Should%20Know\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/info\/mil.parents.12things.pdf\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" style=\"margin: 5px 8px; border: 1px solid black; float: left;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/images\/mil\/12things.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"161\" \/><\/a>Moving once every three years, military families who have children with special needs face unique financial, medical, and legal issues, particularly during deployment or a PCS.<\/p>\n<p>Parents need to understand their legal rights under IDEA (20 U.S.C. 1400), Section 504, and the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. Children with a disability are legally entitled under IDEA to special education or accommodation<\/strong> as needed to help them progress toward educational goals.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. Children, under age 3, with a suspected disability are also entitled to assistance<\/strong> (but parents should check state law before PCS-ing).<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. Parents have the right to school records.<\/strong> Parents have the right to review their child\u2019s school record under FERPA and IDEA.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. Military parents changing public schools should receive \u201ccomparable services\u201d at the child\u2019s new school.<\/strong> According to IDEA, <!--more-->a child who transfers school districts and has an IEP in effect shall be provided \u201cwith a free appropriate public education, including services comparable to those described in the previously held IEP.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. Parents should know how discipline is applied to children with disabilities.<\/strong> Generally, children with disabilities are subject to the same disciplinary standards as other children.<\/p>\n<p><strong>6. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and military pay\u2014know the rules and how moving can change things<\/strong> for a military family.  Junior enlisted parents of a child with a disability can receive financial aid to provide needed support for their child through SSI payments.<\/p>\n<p><strong>7. DoDEA Schools play by their own rules.<\/strong> Both IDEA and DoDI 1342.12 guarantee a FAPE in the least restrictive environment, but DoDI 1342.12 makes no guarantees that timelines and rules it sets for itself will be followed.<\/p>\n<p><strong>8. Parents can disagree with and challenge any decision made by the school <\/strong>about their child. Parents do not have to sign the IEP. Further, parents can agree to consent to some services offered by a school district and not to others.<\/p>\n<p><strong>9. Parents have some powerful tools they can use (with caution) under the law.<\/strong> If parents disagree with a change in services or placement for their child and choose to challenge the decision, they can send the school a written demand for \u201cstay put.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>10. The law will not reimburse parents for experts, but military parents may have an expert.<\/strong> TRICARE\/ECHO, a supplement to TRICARE, provides up to $36,000 in funds for additional therapy and services for military children with a disability.<\/p>\n<p><strong>11. Estate planning is important<\/strong>\u2014and not all military benefits will work for military parents. If the child with a disability will need assistance through programs like SSI and Medicaid into the future, parents should start planning now.<\/p>\n<p><strong>12. Parents of a child with a disability need to do additional legal preparation before deployment.<\/strong> Military parents of a child with a disability must carefully catalogue the doctors, service providers and others that they interface with on behalf of their child. These issues, and more, may need the help of a notary or special power of attorney.<\/p>\n<p>This <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/info\/mil.parents.12things.pdf\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">primer is a helpful parent guide<\/span><\/a> for military families who move often and face unique financial, medical and legal issues.<\/p>\n<p>Col Schuchs-Gopaul explains that military parents:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>need assistance navigating these challenges<\/li>\n<li>need to understand their legal rights<\/li>\n<li>may require advice on estate planning, wills, POAs, etc.<\/li>\n<li>need coaching on advocacy skills<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We&#8217;ve highlighted the &#8220;12 things&#8221;, but you will want to read the entire article that includes legal references and citations and strategies and tips for parents.<\/p>\n<p>Read the complete article, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/info\/mil.parents.12things.pdf\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Legal Issues Facing Military Families with Special Needs Children<\/span><\/a> by Lieutenant Colonel Elizabeth L. Schuchs-Gopaul, USAF, published in the &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.afjag.af.mil\/library\/\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">The Reporter<\/span><\/a>,&#8221; Judge Advocate General&#8217;s Corps, USAF; Vol. 38, No. 1, p. 20.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Moving once every three years, military families who have children with special needs face unique financial, medical, and legal issues, particularly during deployment or a PCS. Parents need to understand <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/12-things-every-jag-military-parent-should-know\/\">Continue Reading \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[486,529],"tags":[817,816,698,818,819,1335,820],"class_list":["post-5891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-military-families","category-parent-rights-responsibilities","tag-comparable-ieps","tag-dodea","tag-exceptional-family-member-program","tag-interstate-compact-on-educational-opportunity-for-military-children","tag-jag-corps","tag-military-families","tag-usaf-judge-advocate-generals-corps"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5891"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5891\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6169,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5891\/revisions\/6169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}