(1) Unless otherwise specified under program
areas, the following shall apply:
(a)
Maintenance of current credentials shall be the ongoing responsibility of any
professional employed by or under contract with an LEA. Maintenance of records
of current credentials shall be the ongoing responsibility of the
LEA.
(b) The LEA shall recruit,
hire, train and retain an adequate supply of highly qualified (certified or
licensed) personnel, including special education, related services and
leadership personnel, to meet the needs of children with disabilities.
[34 C.F.R. §
300.156(d)]
(c) Related service personnel who deliver
services in their discipline or profession must maintain current, State
approved or recognized certification, licensing, registration or other
comparable requirements that apply to the professional discipline in which
those personnel are providing special education or related services and these
related service personnel must have not had certification or licensure
requirements waived on an emergency, temporary or provisional basis.
[34 C.F.R. §
300.156(b)(2)]
1. The required standard credential for all
personnel providing educational interpreting for children who are deaf or hard
of hearing in LEAs, regardless of job title, shall hold a current Georgia
Quality Assurance Screening (G-QAS) rating of Level III or higher in both
interpreting and transliterating, as approved and maintained by the Georgia
Department of Labor/Vocational Rehabilitation Program (DOL/VR), and/or
documentation of advanced interpreting skills and qualifications through
current national certification from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf
(RID), and/or documentation of advanced interpreting skills and qualifications
through current national certification from the National Association of the
Deaf (NAD) Levels III, IV or V, and/or documentation of advance interpreting
skills and qualifications through a current Educational Interpreter Performance
Assessment® (EIPA) rating of Level 3.5 or higher. The EIPA rating cannot be
more than five years old.
2.
Maintenance of current credentials shall be the ongoing responsibility of any
educational interpreter employed by an LEA for purposes of educational
interpreting for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Maintenance of
records of current credentials shall be the ongoing responsibility of the LEA,
and current credentials of educational interpreters must be filed with other
personnel records (e.g., teacher certification credentials).
(d) The LEA shall provide a
classroom of suitable size in a distraction-free area, as required by the type
of program or services to be established, with appropriate furniture,
materials, supplies and equipment to meet the needs of the class or individual
children to be served. GaDOE has established this policy as a safeguard to
prevent placing children with disabilities in classrooms that are too small,
have visual or auditory distractions or do not have items necessary to provide
appropriate instruction.
(e)
Thirty-eight square feet shall be provided for each child in the class with a
variance of 10 percent depending upon the total number of personnel in the
class at any time, the type of children and class, the kind and amount of
furniture and equipment required and the necessity for storage capabilities.
Special circumstances shall be reviewed by the Facilities Department of the
GaDOE and shall be addressed in the approved local facility plan.
(2) Information about caseloads
for children with disabilities is contained in Appendix A below.
(a) The following are maximum class sizes and
caseloads for personnel providing services for children, ages 3 through 5, in
Community (C), Full Day, and Part Day classes. All numbers shown for Maximum
Class Size are with a Paraprofessional.
| Maximum Class Size | Caseload |
| full day | 8 | 16 |
| part day | 12 | 32 |
| C | - | 32 |
This rule shall become effective July 1, 2007.
APPENDIX A - CLASS SIZES AND CASELOADS
DELIVERY
Self-contained (SC) MAXIMUM CLASS SIZE CASE-
PROGRAM AREA Resource (R) W/O Para With Para* LOAD
| INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES |
| Mild | SC | 10 | 13 | 14 |
| R | 10 | 13 | 26 |
| Moderate | SC
| NA | 11 | 11 |
| Severe | SC | NA | 7 | 7 |
| Profound | SC | NA | 6 | 6 |
| EMOTIONAL AND
BEHAVIORAL | SC | 8 | 11 | 12 |
| DISORDERS | R | 10 | 13
| 26 |
| SPECIFIC
LEARNING | SC | 12 | 16 | 16 |
| DISABILITIES | R | 8 | 10 | 26 |
| VISUAL
IMPAIRMENTS | SC | NA | 6 | 7 |
| R | 8 | 10 | 26 |
| DEAF/HARD OF
HEARING | SC | 6 | 8 | 8 |
| R | 3 | 4 | 11 |
| DEAF-BLIND
| SC | NA | 6 | 7 |
| SPEECH-LANGUAGE | SC | 11 | 15 | 15 |
| IMPAIRMENTS | R | 7 | NA | 55 |
| ORTHOPEDIC
IMPAIRMENTS | SC | NA | 11 | 11 |
| R | 4 | 5 | 15 |
See Rule
160-5-1-.08 (Class Size) for
specifics.
Note: Each *paraprofessional (para) is equivalent to 1/3
teacher and affects individual class size, caseload and system average
proportionately. Three paras are the maximum number that can be used to
increase the maximum class size for any special education class.
Note: If children from different programs/delivery models are
within the same segment, the class size shall be determined by the
program/delivery model with the smallest class size. The caseloads shall be
determined by averaging the respective caseloads.
Note: The placement of children with autism, traumatic brain
injury, or other health impairments, and significant developmental delays
(grades K and above) in the above program areas will not change class
sizes.
Note: Children, with an IEP designating the service location
for the delivery of goals and objectives to be the regular classroom
environment, shall be reported in their special education program category if
instruction is provided in a:
A.
Team/Collaborative Model; or
B.
Consultative Model.
O.C.G.A. Secs.
20-2-150,
20-2-152,
20-2-182,
20-2-240,
20-2-730,
20-2-759.
