Programs and Categories

 Specific Special Education Categories of Eligibility

    Autism
    Deaf/Blind
    Emotional & Behavioral Disorder
    Deaf and Hard of Hearing (D/HH)
    Mild Intellectual Disability
    Moderate, Severe, Profound Intellectual Disability
    Orthopedic Impairment
    Other Health Impairment
    Specific Learning Disability
    Speech-Language Impairment
    Traumatic Brain Injury
    Visual Impairment & Blindness
    Young Children with Disabilities - Significant Developmental Delay (SDD)
    GNETS- Georgia Network for Educational and Therapeutic Support (formally Psychoeducational Network)


Children are usually served via one or more of the following types of settings: *

Consultative/ Collaborative: These are the least restrictive of the services and is where the case manager (special education teacher) monitors the student's progress in the general education setting on a periodic basis and/or collaborates with the general education teacher on specialized instruction or management techniques.

Supportive Instruction:  The special needs student is in a general education classroom with a majority of non-special education students. A trained special education paraprofessional provides assistance and support to the students and regular education teacher. This may be done in whole or small group or on an individual basis with the special needs student.

Co-Teaching (similar to supportive instruction): The special needs student is in a general education classroom with a majority of non-special education students. A trained special education teacher provides assistance and support to the students and regular education teacher. This may be done in whole or small group or on an individual basis with the special needs student.

Inclusion: Special education students are in a general education classroom with their non-special education peers and are "included" in the general curriculum. They are typically provided with modifications and support as needed inorder to have appropriate access to grade level standards.

Resource:  Special needs students are taught in separate classes by special education teachers for up to 3 class segments per day. Miminum ratios of teachers/paraprofessionals to students are strictly maintained to provide a reduced class size setting.

Self-Contained:   Students are served in a separate class for 4+ class segments per day by special education teachers. As with Resource services strict class sizes are maintained.

Separate School: For pre-school children, this may be a separate daycare or other preschool program. (Preschool children may also be served in a home setting.) Students with very severe disabilities (such as those with Severe Emotional/ Behavioral Disorders-See GNETS above), who cannot be maintained in a typical school setting may require more restrictive services.

* Other settings are available, but those noted above make up the majority of service delivery options.