SPECIAL EDUCATION

Special education services are provided to students with disabilities who need specialized instruction.  Programs are provided in all areas of disability: intellectual disabilities, specific learning disabilities, emotional/behavioral disorders, orthopedic impairment, other health impairment, visual impairment, hearing impairment, speech/language impairment, autism, significant developmental delay (age 3-5), and traumatic brain injury. Parents who suspect their child may have a disability should contact the principal or the chairperson of the school’s Response to Intervention Team.

SPECIAL ED SCHOLARSHIP 

Under provisions of the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship, parents of students who receive special education services may choose to transfer their children to other public or private schools in Georgia. For additional information, please visit the Georgia Department of education website at

http://public.doe.k12.ga.us, or contact the Brantley County Schools Special Education Department at 912-462-6612 or click the link below.

The Gifted and Talented Program in the Brantley County School System provides differentiated instruction for the intellectually advanced and creatively gifted student.  Gifted services are available for all eligible students in grades kindergarten through grade 12.

Brantley County Schools  identifies uses a state guided process to identify and assess gifted eligibility.  Assessments include the COgat, ITBS, Torrance, a motivational scale and other indicators.

Section 504 is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities.  Section 504 ensures that the child with a disability has equal access to an education.  The child may receive accommodations and modifications.

 Unlike the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 does not require the school to provide an individualized educational program (IEP) that is designed to meet the child's unique needs and provides the child with educational benefit.  Under Section 504, fewer procedural safeguards are available to children with disabilities and their parents than under IDEA.

Section 504 covers qualified students with disabilities who attend schools receiving Federal financial assistance.  To be protected under Section 504, a student must be determined to: (1) have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; or (2) have a record of such impairment; or (3) be regarded as having such impairment.  The determination of whether any particular condition is considered a disability is made on a case by case basis.

If you have any concerns or issues, please call our Student Services Special Education office at (912)462-6612.  If a solution to your problem cannot be reached, you may click HERE for complaint forms and resolution procedures.

RTI or “Response to Intervention” is an education model that promotes the early identification of students who may have learning or behavioral difficulties.  The primary tenets of RTI include:

• Academic and behavioral screenings for all students in order to identify students in need of support
• Progressively intensive implementation of research-based interventions and/or strategies to increase performance of those students who have been identified as needing additional support
• Frequent progress monitoring (academic or behavioral) for those students who are receiving interventions in order determine whether the student has “responded to the intervention.” 

In summary, the RTI model first assumes that instructional needs/deficits are the primary cause of academic or behavioral difficulties.  Given this assumption, students who are experiencing academic or behavioral difficulties are provided with increased academic and behavioral supports to attempt to remediate the deficits.  If the student is found to not respond to the increased supports, students may then be referred for a comprehensive evaluation in order to determine if there is a disability present that is impeding the child from performing adequately.