HCDE’s 3 Year Plan for System Changes in Exceptional Education

For 15 years LifeLine has advocated for systems change on behalf of thousands of Hamilton County students with special needs.  With the formation of the Chattanooga Inclusive Ed Working Group a couple of years ago, we joined many others in documenting the needs of the county and offering solutions to meet those needs.  On Thursday evening,…

Georgia Student Finance Commission: Loans, Scholarships, Grants

Over the years, GSFC has grown to be the administrator of more than 20 state- and lottery-funded scholarships, grants and service-cancelable loan programs that ensure Georgians have an opportunity to access education beyond high school. In addition, GSFC provides free financial aid consultation to K-12, postsecondary institutions and community organizations across the state to help…

Parent Mentor Certification

Reaching Families with Special Needs.  LifeLine will be presenting a complete series of workshops over the next year that will equip you to advocate for your child.  These training opportunities will help you better understand special education proceedings and other service delivery systems.  Parent Mentor Certification consists of a minimum number of hours of training…

Parent and Family engagement

Parent and Family Engagement is an ongoing process that increases active participation , communication, and collaboration between parents, schools, and communities with the goal of educating the whole child to ensure student achievement and success.  This is through Title 1 to enable all children to stay in school without having many absences.   Read more…

Addressing Behavior in the IEP

This month the United States Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services published a Dear Colleague Letter intended to help clarify the use of Positive Behavior Interventions & Supports in the IEP.  A copy of the guidance can be found here: Dear Colleague Letter-on-PBIS-in-IEPs–08-01-2016  Of course, as a governmental document, it was a little…

Key Elements of Inclusion

“What is Inclusion?The term inclusion implies a certain educational placement philosophy, interdisciplinary team planning approach, instructional method and attitude.” “Inclusion DOES NOT necessarily mean that a student never leaves the class and is never paired with another student who receives special education services. Rather, it means that the student is truly a member of a…

Questions & Answers on Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) Requirements of IDEA

When discussion of placement arises in an IEP meeting, often how much “inclusion” will be accessible for a student becomes a topic of conversation.  Where is “inclusion” in IDEA?  Is that term actually there?  Or is it a concept?  Least Restrictive Environment is the term IDEA uses to define placements.  The United States Department of Education,…

Achieving Inclusion

What Every Parent Advocating for Their Child Should Know “Had Nate’s family accepted the initial recommendation of the school, Nate would not have had access to the general education curriculum. He would not have read The Scarlet Letter and been able to share his thoughts on it with friends. He would not have dissected a…

Elopement: Stop Running by Building Skills

“Nat runs to avoid work Sherry runs when she wants attention Mark runs whenever he can They ran in the past and continue to run in spite of strategies created to stop the running. Sound familiar? People who run create stress for everyone involved; often their safety is at risk or their running creates further…