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Announcements and Information for Parents

CHILD FIND

 

Child Find is a continuous process of public awareness activities, screening and evaluation designed to locate, identify, and refer as early as possible all young children with disabilities and their families who are in need of special education services as defined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

 

Child Find in Burke County offers comprehensive special education services to eligible students ages three through 21 years of age. Children from birth to age three with disabilities will be referred to appropriate agencies for services. All referrals are considered confidential, and services are provided at no cost. The parent, legal guardian, or surrogate parent retains the right to refuse services and are provided other procedural safeguards under federal and state law.

 

Public school services include screening in areas of suspected disabilities, such as vision, hearing, motor skills, speech, language, and general development. Evaluations are provided for several areas of suspected disabilities, including:   Autism Spectrum Disorder, Deaf-blind, Deaf/Hard of Hearing, Emotional and Behavioral Disorder, Intellectual Disabilities, Orthopedic Impairment, Other Health Impairment, Significant Developmental Delay, Specific Learning Disability, Speech/language Impairment, Traumatic Brain Injury, Visual Impairment.

 

A free, appropriate, public education with a full continuum of services is available. For more information concerning eligibility criteria and referral procedures, contact the Student Services office at 706-554-6306.

The Burke County Board of Education will destroy all student records relating to Special Education Services for individuals who will attain the age of 22 on or before June 30, of the current year.  These records will be destroyed after the last Friday in August of the current year.  Anyone wishing to recover his/her personal records before they are destroyed may call the Student Services Office at (706) 554-6306 to schedule an appointment for pickup.

 

Burke County High School's special education graduation rate was recognized by the Georgia Department of Education.  By using the link below you will be able to access BCPS graduation rate for student's with disabilities and the support and programs that we use to graduate students. Once you open the link simply scroll over Burke on the map to see the good news!
 
https://www.gadoe.org/Curriculum-Instruction-and-Assessment/Special-Education-Services/Pages/5-steps-School-Completion-Toolkit.aspx

The Burke County Public School District invites parents of Homeschool Parents of Students with Disabilities to a consultation meeting regarding your school’s participation in the following federally funded programs for the 2022-2023 school year.

 

IDEA: Students with Disabilities --- Designed to provide resources to educate students with disabilities in a regular educational setting to the extent feasible.

 

This meeting is scheduled for October 19, 2021 at 11:00am.  The meeting will be held at the BCPS Teaching and Learning facility located behind BCHS. 

The GADOE has reinstated the Alternate Diploma option for students with severe cognitive disabilities.  This diploma option will be offered for the first time to Cohort 2024.  Please use the link below to learn more about this diploma type, and call our office if you have additional questions.
 
https://www.gadoe.org/Curriculum-Instruction-and-Assessment/Special-Education-Services/Documents/Sp%20Ed%20homepg/ESSA%20Alternate%20Diploma%20FAQ%20for%20Families.pdf
Parent feedback is an important part of helping our department make improvements to serve you and your students as well as let us know what we are doing well.  Please consider completing the survey linked below if you are the parent of a student with a disability who attends BCPS:
 
 

Message from the office of Brian Kemp:

 

May 18, 2022 – Governor Brian P. Kemp and the Georgia Department of Education have opened reimbursement applications for families of children with special needs to now include private school and home school programs through July 31, 2022. 

 

“In my State of the State Address in 2021, I announced that Georgia would set aside $10 million in Governor's Emergency Education Relief funds to offset costs that parents of students with special needs faced due to COVID-19. By now including private and home school programs, we have the ability to serve even more families,” said Governor Kemp. “I am proud of the partnership between my office, State School Superintendent Richard Woods, the Georgia Department of Education, and state leaders for working to improve the lives of Georgia’s most vulnerable students. These reimbursements will help families overcome financial challenges faced during school years that were disrupted by the pandemic.”

 

The Governor’s Office, the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget, and the Georgia Department of Education have worked in recent months to determine the best way to help those most severely impacted in a population that attended private schools or were homeschooled during the pandemic. Expenses that have been identified as eligible for reimbursement are those that are necessary to meet the challenges these students face regarding educational achievement, personal development, and emotional wellbeing. The link to the application is available here through July 31, 2022.