Rule 505-3-.55 - Special Education General Curriculum Program(1)Purpose. This rule states field-specific content standards for approving programs that prepare teachers to teach all students P-12 with disabilities whose individual education program indicates instruction using the general education curriculum and participation in the general statewide assessment. This rule supplements requirements in GaPSC Rule 505-3-.01 REQUIREMENTS AND STANDARDS FOR APPROVING EDUCATOR PREPARATION PROVIDERS AND EDUCATOR PREPARATION PROGRAMS and in GaPSC Rule 505-3-.03 FOUNDATIONS OF READING, LITERACY, AND LANGUAGE.(2)Requirements.(a) To receive approval, a GaPSC-approved educator preparation provider shall offer a preparation program described in program planning forms, catalogs, and syllabi addressing the following standards adapted from the standards published by the Council for Exceptional Children (2020).1.Engaging in Professional Learning and Practice within Ethical Guidelines. Candidates practice within ethical and legal guidelines; advocate for improved outcomes for individuals with exceptionalities and their families while considering their social, cultural, and linguistic differences; and engage in ongoing self-reflection to design and implement professional learning activities. (i) Candidates practice within ethical guidelines and legal policies and procedures;(ii) Candidates advocate for improved outcomes for individuals with exceptionalities and their families while addressing the unique needs of those with varying social, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds; and(iii) Candidates design and implement professional learning activities based on ongoing analysis of student learning; self-reflection; and professional standards, research, and contemporary practices.2.Understanding and Addressing Each Individual's Developmental and Learning Needs. Candidates use their understanding of human growth and development, the multiple influences on development, individual differences, including exceptionalities, and families and communities to plan and implement supportive and welcoming learning environments and experiences that provide individuals with exceptionalities high quality learning experiences reflective of each individual's strengths and needs.(i) Candidates apply understanding of human growth and development to create developmentally appropriate and meaningful learning experiences that address individualized strengths and needs of students with exceptionalities; and(ii) Candidates use their knowledge and understanding of various factors that influence development and learning, including differences related to families, languages, cultures, and communities, and individual differences, including exceptionalities, to plan and implement learning experiences and environments.3.Demonstrating Subject Matter Content and Specialized Curricular Knowledge. Candidates apply their understanding of the academic subject matter content of the general curriculum and specialized curricula to inform their programmatic and instructional decisions for learners with exceptionalities. (i) Candidates apply their understanding of academic subject matter content of the general curriculum to inform their programmatic and instructional decisions for individuals with exceptionalities; and(ii) Candidates augment the general education curriculum to address skills and strategies that students with disabilities need to access the core curriculum and function successfully within a variety of contexts as well as the continuum of placement options to assure specially designed instruction is developed and implemented to achieve mastery of curricular standards and individualized goals and objectives.4.Using Assessment to Understand the Learner and the Learning Environment for Databased Decision Making. Candidates assess students' learning, behavior, and the classroom environment in order to evaluate and support classroom and school-based problem-solving systems of intervention and instruction. Candidates evaluate students to determine their strengths and needs, contribute to students' eligibility determination, communicate students' progress, inform short and long-term instructional planning, and make ongoing adjustments to instruction using technology as appropriate.(i) Candidates collaboratively develop, select, administer, analyze, and interpret multiple measures of student learning, behavior, and the classroom environment to evaluate and support classroom and school-based systems of intervention for students with and without exceptionalities;(ii) Candidates develop, select, administer, and interpret multiple, formal and informal, culturally and linguistically appropriate measures and procedures that are valid and reliable to contribute to eligibility determination for special education services; and(iii) Candidates assess, collaboratively analyze, interpret, and communicate students' progress toward measurable outcomes using technology as appropriate, to inform both short- and long-term planning, and make ongoing adjustments to instruction.5.Supporting Learning Using Effective Instruction. Candidates use knowledge of individuals' development, learning needs, and assessment data to inform decisions about effective instruction. Candidates use explicit instructional strategies and employ strategies to promote active engagement and increased motivation to individualize instruction to support each individual. Candidates use whole group instruction, flexible grouping, small group instruction, and individual instruction. Candidates teach individuals to use meta-/cognitive strategies to support and self-regulate learning.(i) Candidates use findings from multiple assessments, including student self-assessment, that are responsive to cultural and linguistic differences and specialized as needed, to identify what students know and are able to do. They then interpret the assessment data to appropriately plan and guide instruction to meet rigorous academic and non-academic content and goals for each individual;(ii) Candidates use effective strategies to promote active student engagement, increase student motivation, increase opportunities to respond, and enhance self-regulation of student learning;(iii) Candidates use explicit, systematic instruction to teach content, strategies, and skills to make clear what a learner needs to do or think about while learning. Candidates use flexible grouping to support the use of instruction that is adapted to meet the needs of each individual and group; and(iv) Candidates organize and manage focused, intensive small group instruction to meet the learning needs of each individual. Candidates plan and deliver specialized, individualized instruction that is used to meet the learning needs of each individual.6.Supporting Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Growth. Candidates create and contribute to safe, respectful, and productive learning environments for individuals with exceptionalities through the use of effective routines and procedures and use a range of preventive and responsive practices to support social, emotional and educational well-being. They follow ethical and legal guidelines and work collaboratively with families and other professionals to conduct behavioral assessments for intervention and program development. (i) Candidates use effective routines and procedures to create safe, caring, respectful, and productive learning environments for individuals with exceptionalities;(ii) Candidates use a range of preventive and responsive practices documented as effective to support individuals' social, emotional, and educational well-being; and(iii) Candidates systematically use data from a variety of sources to identify the purpose or function served by problem behavior to plan, implement, and evaluate behavioral interventions and social skills programs, including generalization to other environments.7.Collaborating with Team Members. Candidates apply team processes and communication strategies to collaborate in a culturally responsive manner with families, paraprofessionals, and other professionals within the school, other educational settings, and the community to plan programs and access services for individuals with exceptionalities and their families. (i) Candidates utilize communication, group facilitation, and problem-solving strategies in a culturally responsive manner to lead effective meetings and share expertise and knowledge to build team capacity and jointly address students' instructional and behavioral needs;(ii) Candidates collaborate, communicate, and coordinate with families, paraprofessionals, and other professionals within the educational setting to assess, plan, and implement effective programs and services that promote progress toward measurable outcomes for individuals with and without exceptionalities and their families;(iii) Candidates collaborate, communicate, and coordinate with professionals and agencies within the community to identify and access services, resources, and supports to meet the identified needs of individuals with exceptionalities and their families; and(iv) Candidates work with and mentor paraprofessionals in the paraprofessionals' role of supporting the education of individuals with exceptionalities and their families.(b) The program shall prepare professionals who understand and apply principles of teaching reading and writing and who meet the standards for Special Education (P-12) programs specified in GaPSC Rule 505-3-.03 FOUNDATIONS OF READING, LITERACY, AND LANGUAGE (paragraph (3) (f)).(c) The program shall require the completion of a content concentration in social science, science, math, language arts, or reading. 1. A content concentration shall consist of fifteen (15) semester hours of academic content that conforms with the requirements of the content concentrations for middle grades. (See GaPSC Rule 505-3-.19 MIDDLE GRADES EDUCATION PROGRAM).2. One or more courses taken to meet the requirements of (b) (above) may be counted toward the fifteen semester hours required for the reading concentration.3. One or more courses taken to meet the requirements of (b) (above) may be counted toward the fifteen semester hours required for the language arts concentration.Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 505-3-.55
O.C.G.A. § 20-2-200.
Original Rule entitled "Speech Education Program" adopted. F. Dec. 18, 1991; eff. Jan. 7, 1992.Repealed: New Rule entitled "School Nutrition Director Program" adopted. F. Dec. 16, 1992; eff. July 1, 1993, as specified by the Agency.Repealed: New Rule, same title adopted. F. Nov. 9, 2001; eff. Dec. 1, 2001, as specified by the Agency.Amended: F. Aug. 20, 2004; eff. Sept. 15, 2004, as specified by the Agency.Repealed: Rule reserved. F. Oct. 24, 2005; eff. Nov. 15, 2005, as specified by the Agency.Adopted: New Rule entitled "Curriculum and Instruction Program" adopted. F. Dec. 20, 2011; eff. Jan. 15, 2012.Repealed: New Rule entitled "Special Education General Curriculum Program" adopted. F. Apr. 24, 2014; eff. May 15, 2014, as specified by the Agency.Repealed: New Rule of same title adopted. F. Apr. 4, 2023; eff. Apr. 15, 2023, as specified by the Agency.Amended: F. Aug. 10, 2023; eff. Aug. 15, 2023, as specified by the Agency.