The performance indicators of the Georgia State Improvement Grant (SIG) include:

Increase the number of students with disabilities who:

• Are employed upon exiting from school.
• Attend post-secondary education programs.
• Earn a regular education diploma.
• Receive education with non-disabled peers for more than one-half of the school day.
• Participate in the statewide assessment program with and without accommodations.
• Exit special education programs and return to general education programs.

Decrease the number of students with disabilities who:

• Drop-out from school.

Project Title:	Georgia State Improvement Grant (SIG)
Primary contact person:	John O'Connor
Address:	Georgia Department of Education Division for Exceptional Students 1870 Twin Towers East Atlanta, GA 30334
Phone:	404-657-9956
Fax:	404-651-6457
Email:	joconnor@doe.k12.ga.us
Web site:	Not indicated
Date SIG application written/submitted:	September 30, 1998
Round funded:	First
Begin/end dates for funding:	1999-2004
Funded amount /year:	Not indicated
Who wrote the application?	The SIG Steering Committee guided the grant development process. The application was written by DOE staff members and the Georgia SIG subgrantees. The subgrantees include representatives from local school systems, Georgia Learning Resources System sites, the Georgia Registry for Interpreters of the Deaf, six Institutions of Higher Education, and the Georgia Parent Training and Information Center.
Length of application:	Narrative: 389 pages

1. What specific products are planned for development?

Develop or expand Institutions of Higher Education or other entities that:

• Prepare teachers of students with low incidence disabilities.
• Prepare educational interpreters.
• Prepare general and special educators to teach students with diverse strengths and needs.
• Provide support for students who have disabilities.

Develop and implement a variety of ongoing professional development activities that:

• Increase the performance of students with orthopedic and/or visual impairments.
• Retain speech therapists and teachers of students with emotional-behavioral disorders.
• Increase parent-school collaboration.
• Increase the performance of young children with disabilities.
• Increase the provision of educational programs in accordance with laws, rules, and regulations.
• Increase the performance of students with severe disabilities.
• Increase the reading performance of students with and without disabilities.
• Increase the number of students with disabilities who participate in statewide assessments.
• Increase the responsible behavior and engaged learning of students with and without disabilities.

Implement model programs that:

• Unify a variety of stakeholders to educate young children with disabilities.
• Include students with disabilities in the general education program.
• Increase the reading achievement of students with and without disabilities.
• Provide consistent and effective school-wide discipline programs.
• Effectively transition students with disabilities into post-school activities.

2. What interstate connections are planned?

Georgia is a participating member of the National Association of State Directors of Teachers Education and Certification (NASDTEC) Interstate Agreement. Georgia has signed with all member jurisdictions to accept reciprocal certification from those jurisdictions. Georgia has also worked with an institution of higher education in Florida to provide a teacher-training program in the field of visual impairments.

3. What strategies are planned for service delivery? 

Provide consultation, leadership, and funding for:

• Teacher-training programs at IHEs.
• Educational interpreter training programs.
• Five statewide training activities annually for educators of students with visual impairments.
• A Bureau for Students with Physical and Health Impairments that provides training, on-site coaching, and resources to parents and educators.
• An annual seminar and networking structure for speech therapists.
• A mentoring academy for educators of students with emotional-behavioral disorders.
• Training activities and ongoing coaching in select school systems that promote collaboration between parents and educators.
• A gap analysis, goal setting, and ongoing support to school systems in preparation for Compliance Review monitoring.
• A Bureau for Students with Severe Disabilities to provide training, on-site coaching, and resources for parents and educators.
• Training in research-supported reading programs.
• A course on the fundamentals of reading instruction.
• Training and support to local school system assessment teams.
• The development of a simulation CD-ROM and course on positive behavioral intervention strategies.
• Collaborative programs that educate young students with disabilities.
• Pilot school systems that systematically include students with disabilities in the general education programs.
• Pilot programs that implement school-wide discipline programs.
• A disability consultant at select technical schools that provide support to students with disabilities.
• Ongoing support to school systems as they increase their transition services to post-school activities for students with disabilities.

4. What partnership strategies are intended?

The Georgia SIG has three layers of partnerships. The initial layer is a SIG Steering Committee that consults on the development and implementation of SIG activities. The SIG Steering Committee includes representatives from Office of the Governor, parents of students with disabilities, parents of students without disabilities, local school systems, an individuals with disabilities, the Georgia Learning Resources System, Board of Regents, Babies Can't Wait program (Part C), IHEs, professional organizations, the Parent Training and Information Center, State Interagency Coordinating Council (Part C), Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities, Special Education Advisory Panel, Georgia Project for Assistive Technology, parent advocacy organizations, Division of Rehabilitative Services, and the Georgia School Superintendents Association.

The second partnership layer includes a steering committee for each SIG activities. This committee is made up of stakeholders of that particular activity and DOE staff.

5. Who are the partners?

Answered in questions 4 & 6.

6. What types of contracts or subgrants are intended to partners, LEAs, IHE, PTIs, and others (including lead agency under Part C)?

The third partnership layer includes subgrantees for the specific activities. The subgrantees are responsible for carrying out the particular grant activity with support from the activity steering committee and the DOE. The subgrantees include representatives from local school systems, Georgia Learning Resources System sites, the Georgia Registry for Interpreters of the Deaf, six Institutions of Higher Education, and the Georgia Parent Training and Information Center.

7. How will resources be pooled with other resources?

The SEA, each subgrantee, and other agencies contribute significant resources to complete Georgia SIG activities. Young children with disabilities and their families directly or indirectly benefit from many of the Georgia SIG activities including the preservice, low-incidence, educator retention, regulatory, and behavior management activities. In addition, one activity is devoted entirely to increasing the performance of young children. This activity includes partnerships with IHEs, school systems, Part C administrators and providers, and other stakeholders to design model educational programs for young children with and without disabilities.