Include College Campaign Brings Focus to Programs for Students with Disabilities
Georgia Inclusive Post-secondary Education Consortium is dedicated to ensuring that every Georgia student has access to learning after high school, regardless of intellectual or developmental disability. August 31, 2018 - Include College is the newest campaign launched by the Georgia Inclusive Postsecondary Education Consortium to bring attention to nine inclusive college programs for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities across Georgia.
Currently, the following universities and colleges have inclusive programs in Georgia: University of Georgia, Columbus State University, Georgia State University, Georgia Southern University, East Georgia State College, Albany Technical College, University of West Georgia, Georgia Institute of Technology and Kennesaw State University.
There are 139 students enrolled in the nine programs, and plans are to grow to serving 275 students a year in 13 programs by 2025.
“The goal of this campaign is for parents, students, family members and educators to include college in a student’s transition planning as an option after high school,” said Susanna Miller-Raines, statewide coordinator for GAIPSEC.
Include College is a clearing house that allows parents, students and other stakeholders to receive complete information on the college programs and steps to include in planning for life after high school. This includes understanding all of the colleges different offerings, how to plan for college options throughout the child’s K-12 career and various agencies and organizations that can support parents through the process.
Georgia’s college programs are inclusive in campus life, academic offerings and prepare students with job training and independent living skills. Students with disabilities who attend inclusive college programs have a higher chance to receive job opportunities in competitive employment. In Georgia, 75 percent of the 2017 graduates are now employed.
With a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, GAIPSEC aims to build the capacity to serve 75 new students per year across Georgia by 2020.
The campaign is supported by the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities with support to its Five Year Plan goal of education. Specifically, GCDD aims to expand the successful inclusive post-secondary educational programs to 13 by 2022.
For more information about GAIPSEC, visit www.gaipsec.org. For more about GCDD, visit www.gcdd.org.
The original article was posted in the Marietta Daily Journal on August 31, 2018.
