Special Education Services and Supports

The Division for Special Education Services and Supports includes programs and services that support local school districts in their efforts to provide special education and related services to students with disabilities. 

These services focus on enhancing student achievement and post-secondary outcomes through implementation of regional and statewide activities for students, families, educators, administrators, and other stakeholders.  

Targeted areas for services and supports include accessible instructional materials, assistive technology, curriculum access and alignment, dropout prevention, family engagement, least restrictive environment, positive behavior supports, and transition.  

Additional services include ensuring compliance with federal and state ​regulations for special education, collecting and analyzing data on educational services and outcomes, providing guidance and oversight of the budgets for state and federal special education funds, and coordinating dispute resolution requirements as required by state and federal regulations.

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Student Success: Imagine the Possibilities  

Special Education Implementation: Rules, Manual, and Forms 

• Special Education Rules
• Implementation Manual
• IEP and Related Services Resources   
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Sample Special Education Forms 

Eligibility Categories 

• Autism
• Deafblind
• Deaf/Hard of Hearing (D/HH)
• Emotional & Behavioral Disorder
• Intellectual Disabilities
• Orthopedic Impairment
• Other Health Impairment
• Significant Developmental Delay
• Specific Learning Disability
• Speech-Language Impairment
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Visual Impairment & Blindness 

Budgets, Grants, Data Collection and Reporting 

• Budget, Grants, and Consolidated Application
• Data Collections Conference​   
• Federal Data Reports
• Guidance for District Submissions to the GaDOE
• Child Find and Early Childhood Transition Timeline Summary Reporting Guidance  
• Continuation of Services Reporting Documentation
• Coordinated Early Intervening Services, Reporting Guidance
• Postsecondary Outcomes Survey for 2015-2016 Exiters Guidance
• Preschool Outcomes Guidance
• Transition Planning Survey Reporting and Document Upload Guidance
• Special Education Annual Reports (Data Sources, Rules, and Definitions)
• Calculation Method 
• Special Education Due Dates FY17 
• State Performance Plan (SPP), Annual Performance Reports (APR) and Annual Determinations 

Continuous Improvement 

• Student Success: Imagine the Possibilities 
• General Supervision - Georgia's Continuous Improvement Monitoring Process (GCIMP)
• Disproportionality
• GaDoe Strategic Plan and Federal Indicators for Students with Disabilities
• Approved Private Schools 

Dispute Resolution 

• Overview
• Formal Complaints
• Mediation
• Due Process Hearings
• Due Process Hearing Decisions
• Dispute Resolution Parent Guides  
• Parent Rights
• Special Education Legal Aid Providers
• IEP Team Meeting Facilitation 

Family Engagement Information and Resources 

• Information for Parents
• Georgia Parent Mentor Partnership
• Parent Training and Information Center
• Parent Rights 

State Advisory Panel (SAP) 

• Purpose
• Current Membership​ 
• 2015-2016 Annual Report 

Statewide Projects and Initiatives 

• CEEDAR-GA Project
• Core Access Teachers
• Georgia Instructional Materials Center (GIMC)
• Accessible Instructional Materials (AIMs)
• GaDOE Unified English Braille (UEB) Implementation Plan
• Georgia Learning Resources System (GLRS)
• Georgia Network For Educational And Therapeutic Support (GNETS)
• Georgia Online IEP
• Georgia Parent Mentor Partnership
• Georgia Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS)
• Georgia Project AWARE
• Georgia Project for Assistive Technology (GPAT)
• State Personnel Development Grant (SPDG) 

Conferences and Presentations, Webinars, Friday Email Blasts, Newsletters 

• Conferences and Presentations
• Directors' Webinars
• Friday Email Blasts 
• Professional Learning Resources 
• Recorded Webinars ​​​​​​​​​​