Georgia Virtual School (GaVS) provides accommodations in our online classrooms for students who have a current Special Education, Section 504, EL/TPC/English development, hospital homebound or medical plan in place. To have accommodations from an individualized plan implemented in a GaVS course, GaVS must receive the current copy of the student's individualized plan each semester the student enrolls with GaVS. The current plan should be uploaded to the student profile by the GaVS facilitator at the local school/district or be provided by the parent of homeschool students. After a student is enrolled and the current plan is received, stakeholders are notified of the accommodations Georgia Virtual School can provide.
There may be some provisions of an individualized plan that are not conducive to the online environment or GaVS model and cannot be implemented in the GaVS online classrooms. While Georgia Virtual School provides accommodations relevant to the online class as outlined in the individualized plan, the local public school will continue to maintain all aspects of the individualized plan, to include progress monitoring towards goals and providing instructional and related services. For English learners, the local school will need to provide required ESOL language instruction services.
While Georgia Virtual School staff will work with the local school or parent/guardian to answer questions to assist with placement, ultimately the local school and guardian or homeschool parent are responsible for making placement decisions. Our online STUDENT ONLINE READINESS SURVEY is a tool offered as one indicator of your readiness for online learning.
Parents/guardians of Georgia Virtual School students are strongly encouraged to create a guardian account. Parental involvement is vital to student success and guardian accounts furnish parents/guardians with a window into student progress and the learning environment.
Visit our student learning services documents.
Our online courses naturally provide supports commonly outlined in individualized plans, such as:
a flexible work schedule
clearly outlined due dates for the entire semester
ability for guardians and school facilitators to easily monitor student progress
personalized and specific feedback
opportunity to preview course content
ability to work in a quiet environment with limited distractions
review and study activities are integrated into the course content
ability to plan and prepare for upcoming assessments in advance
ability to use course content, resources, and self-checks as much as needed to complete and prepare for graded assignments and assessments
variety of communication tools
option to utilize OS accessibility tools (text-to-speech, dictation, spelling/grammar check, color filters, etc.)
Examples of accommodations conducive to the online environment include:
extended time on timed assessments
second attempt on tests and quizzes
use of a calculator
use of a word-to-word dictionary
use of graphic organizers
clear, consistent expectations and policies
use of organizational devices, such as to do lists, pacing schedule, and calendars
*If you have any questions regarding accommodations, please contact sarah.newman@gavirtualschool.org.
Students enrolled with Georgia Virtual School who are private school or homeschool students will be provided with appropriate and reasonable accommodations required under Section 504. Homeschool or private school parents/guardians should make Georgia Virtual School aware of any student previosuly identified as having a disability or chronic illness, so necessary steps can be taken to determine Section 504 eligibility and provide accommodations, if appropriate.If a parent/guardian of a homeschool or private school student enrolled with Georgia Virtual School feels their child may have a disability, the parent should contact sarah.newman@gavirtualschool.org to request information related to Section 504.
Georgia Virtual School, with the consent of the parent/guardian, will work with the parent to determine Section 504 eligibility and accommodations, if appropriate. The team may consider input from observations, data, medical records, grades, aptitude and achievement tests, teacher and parental recommendations. If found eligible under Section 504, the Section 504 team will work collaboratively to develop a Section 504 Plan.
Georgia Virtual School can be an excellent match for a student who is being served by a hospital/homebound program. Public school students should provide the hospital homebound paperwork from their local public school. Private or homeschool students should provide a doctor’s note describing the situation. Documentation should be uploaded to the student profile by the GaVS facilitator or emailed to sarah.newman@gavirtualschool by the parent/guardian of private and homeschool students.
Georgia Virtual School will not discriminate against any qualified individual on the basis of disability.
It is the responsibility of the local school system to ensure that the system meets all requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Section 504. The current Individualized Education Program or 504 Plan must be provided to Georgia Virtual School by the local school system. If there is a change in the plan or in eligiblity while a student is enrolled with Georgia Virtual School, the public school should provide Georgia Virtual School a copy of the current plan, as soon as it is finalized. Georgia Virtual School will follow all applicable provisions in the IEP or 504 Plan, however there may be some provisions that can not be implemented. In such a case, the local school system must determine whether Georgia Virtual School is an appropriate placement.
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