New Scholarship Available for Special Education Students
If you have a child in special education, you might qualify for a new scholarship. Earlier this year, the Georgia Legislature passed a bill, recognizing the financial needs of this particular population. And now, a few residents are trying to get the word out about this new opportunity.
“It gives parents more choices about what to do,” says Ava White.
Ava White is talking about SB 10. It’s a new law that the Georgia Legislature passed this year, offering scholarship money to students enrolled in a special education program.
“It doesn’t matter how slight or how impaired a child is, if they were served last year in a public school, they would qualify for SB 10 money,” White tells Newschannel 32.
But, that’s just one of the requirements. The student must also be a Georgia resident and have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Depending on the school system and how many hours a day, last year, their student was in special education, determines how much scholarship money the parent will receive.
“It just gives them another way of looking at different ways to give their child the kind of education they think they need and deserve,” continues White.
Once a student qualifies, parents might be glad to know that their child will get more individualized help and a lower student-teacher ratio.
“Some basic needs that you and I take for granted, they want their kids to be able to do. And, they want to make sure they go through 12 years of school with those kinds of skills in their back pocket,” adds White.
The scholarship deadline has been extended to September 21st. For more information or to fill out an application, go to the Georgia Department of Education’s web-site (www.doe.k12.ga.us) and type in “Georgia Special Needs Scholarship.”
