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Student Services

RTI

The RtI Pyramid is a 4 tier model that represents the process of implementing “progress monitoring” by providing layers of progressively intensive interventions to ensure student learning. The Georgia Student Achievement Pyramid of Interventions is the process of aligning appropriate assessments with purposeful instruction for all students. In Georgia, Response to Intervention is based in the general education classroom where teachers routinely implement a strong and rigorous standards-based learning environment. The tiered approach to providing layers of intervention for students needing support services requires a school wide common understanding of the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) and the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards (CCGPS), assessment practices, and instructional pedagogy.
 
Beyond the academic aspects of the pyramid, the area of behavior is also addressed.  Students who demonstrate learning problems often have accompanying behavioral difficulties.  Whether behavior problems coexist with academic difficulties or appear to stand alone, these behavioral difficulties can further negatively impact academic progress as well as contribute to social emotional problems and poor educational outcomes.  In order to assess and make decisions concerning behavior, behavioral data must be systematically collected using tools such as observations, analysis of office discipline referrals, and rating scales, etc.  This is done through a multi-tiered structure similar to the intervention approach used for academic difficulties.
 
In Banks County, all students participate in standards based learning. Students requiring interventions to meet individual learning expectations will receive support through a systematic and purposeful process. Through the RtI process, the number of students requiring interventions decreases as the intensity level of the interventions increases. 

Special Education

The Special Education Program in the Banks County School System is designed to meet the specific needs of students with disabilities age 3 to 21.

Disaibilitiy areas served at this time include:
a) Autism spectrum disorder
(b) Deaf/blind
(c) Deaf/hard of hearing
(d) Emotional and behavioral disorder
(e) Intellectual disability
(f) Orthopedic impairment
(g) Other health impairment
(h) Significant developmental delay
(i) Specific learning disability
(j) Speech-language impairment
(k) Traumatic brain injury
(l) Visual impairment

Georgia Special Needs Scholarship & SB10

Child Find

​In accordance with state rule 160-4-7-.03 and IDEA regulations, Banks County Schools (BCS) conducts child find activities to identify, locate and evaluate all children, in the district, who are suspected of having disabilities that may result in a need for special education and related services. Child Find responsibilities extend to all children suspected of having disabilities, including those participating in Babies Can’t Wait (age birth through 3), attending Head Start, private, religious and public child care centers, detained in jail, and those children who may be homeless or migrant.
Child Find annual activity includes:
Public Notification:
  1. Announcement regarding Child Find activities on Banks County School District website.
  2. Dissemination of information describing referrals, screening, evaluation, eligibility, and special education services. Information is provided to DFCS, Banks County Health Department, Head Start, public library, private, religious and public child care centers, and local medical offices and clinics. BCS staff are available to meet with parents, referral sources, and community groups to discuss Child Find activities. 
 
 

Preschool Early Intervention

Preschool Early Intervention is a public special education service provided to children ages 3 to 5 who are experiencing a delay in development.  It is a process that promotes collaboration among parents, caregivers, service providers, and others significantly involved with your child.  Services help address your concerns about your child’s development and support your family in meeting your child’s developmental needs.  If a child is eligible, he or she will receive appropriate educational services at no cost. 

  

Referral

Parents, Pediatricians, Preschool Teachers, Babies-Can’t-Wait, or anyone concerned about a child’s development can refer a child for screening. Once a referral is made, the family takes part in screening activities designed to gather information about the family’s concerns and your child’s development in the following skill areas: cognitive/learning, large and small motor, self-help, social/emotional, and speech and language. Families complete questionnaires, surveys, and checklists that provide information about their child’s development. This information is used to determine if further evaluation is necessary. All information is confidential. 

  

 

Evaluation

A comprehensive evaluation is completed to determine eligibility for Preschool Special Education Services.  Children are eligible if they have a developmental delay and/or disability, need specially designed instruction to learn, and meet eligibility criteria. The evaluation identifies the strengths and needs of the child in the following areas of development: social, motor, cognitive, adaptive, communication, and sensory processing. Because you know your child so well, parent participation in the evaluation is especially important. 

  

 

Individualized Education Program-IEP

If the evaluation determines your child is eligible, an Individualized Education Program (IEP) will be developed. The IEP planning team includes Banks County Preschool staff, parents, teachers, therapists, and other professionals. By sharing information, the team will be able to target supports and services to meet your child’s needs. Preschool Special Education Services are based on the IEP that is written for your child. Goals and objectives are written and services for your child are designed to support his/her educational goals. 

  

  Residents of Banks County can obtain information about our Preschool Special Education Program by contacting:

Tondra Boswell

Banks County Special Programs

Preschool Special Education Coordinator

102 Highway 51 South

504

The purpose of Section 504 is to protect individuals with disabilities from discrimination for reasons related to their disabilities. The ADA revision of Section 504 in 2008 broadened the definition of a student with a disability; such that, there may be students with disabilities that are protected under Section 504 against discrimination and found to be in need of some special services that do not qualify for special education under IDEA. To be eligible for protections under Section 504, the child must have a physical or mental impairment. This impairment must substantially limit at least one major life activity. Major life activities include walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, writing, performing math calculations, working, caring for oneself, and performing manual tasks. The key is whether the child has an "impairment" that "substantially limits... one or more … major life activities."  For more information please contact the directors of student services.

Gifted

The Banks County School System is committed to the belief that every student has the right to receive an education based on individual needs. The gifted student is entitled to a differentiated curriculum consisting of courses of study in which the content, the teaching strategies, and the expectations of the student mastery are appropriately modified. Referrals for consideration may be made by teachers, parents or guardians, counselors, administrators, peers, self, and other individuals with knowledge of the student's abilities. Eligibility criteria for placement in the program for gifted students are based on Georgia Board of Education rules and Department of Education (GaDOE) Rule 160-4-2-.38 for educating gifted students. Curricula developed for gifted students incorporate the State Board of Education approved student competencies and the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards. The curricula for gifted students is reviewed annually and revised as needed. Referrals for consideration for eligibility shall be based on GaDOE requirements as well as locally established procedures.  For more information please contact the directors of students services. 

ESOL

English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) is a state-funded instructional program for eligible English Learners (ELs) in grades K-12 (Georgia School Law Code 1981, § 20-2-156, enacted in 1985). The ESOL program is a standards-based curriculum emphasizing academic and social language development. ESOL coursework is based upon the WIDA Consortium English Language Development (ELD) standards. Classroom teachers integrate these ELD standards with the Georgia Performance Standards to enable ELs to both communicate in English and demonstrate their academic, social, and cultural proficiency. Instructional approaches, both in ESOL and general education classes, ensure that the needs of Georgia’s ELs are accommodated. In ESOL programs it is appropriate, when practicable, to use the EL’s home language as a means of facilitating instruction and providing parents with school-related information. For information about the federal programs that enhance Georgia's foundational language services for English Learners, please contact the directors of student services.