Are Existing Supports and Standard Outcome Measurements Effective for Military Children?

Our 2020 and 2021 surveys established several baseline measures and show how the highly mobile military lifestyle impacts the ability to receive a FAPE guaranteed by the IDEA. We learned that despite having a cause to file due process complaints, many military families did not feel they could access recourse due to barriers presented by the highly mobile military lifestyle. We also learned that military families had difficulty accessing IDEA protections when they moved from one state to another. In 2022, Partners in PROMISE’s research team wanted to better understand how the IDEA and The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 provisions are implemented through the formation and execution of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and 504 Plans, and how effective these IEPs/504 Plans are in helping military students achieve positive long-term outcomes. This led us to formulate the following research questions:

• Do military parents have long-term educational outcome goals for their children?
• Given their highly mobile lifestyle, do military parents believe their child’s annual IEP goals are an effective vehicle to achieve their long-term educational outcome goals?
• Do state-wide standardized testing capture military special education student outcomes?

Partners in PROMISE 2022 Survey Report found below is a summary of what we discovered.

This work would not be possible without the hard work of our Research Team:

Jennifer Barnhill, MPA – Partners in PROMISE – Lead Researcher & Corresponding Author

Dr. Jennifer Kremkow, Ph.D. – Associate Professor/Grad Program Director – Communication Sciences & Disorders, Elmhurst University

Dr. Alyssa Picchini Schaffer, Ph.D. – Scientific Consulting and Communication

Michelle Norman – Partners in PROMISE – Executive Director and Co-Founder

Crystal DeVoss Mahany – Partners in PROMISE – Legal Analyst

Tricia Ross – Partners in PROMISE – Marketing Director

Destiny Huff, Ph.D. Candidate – Partners in PROMISE – Graphic Design

Dr. Amy Shuman, Ph.D. – The Ohio State University (IRB Sponsor)