(i)  Student Support Services (SSS) - integrated and collaborative programs of school counseling and guidance services, school climate management and student discipline, school health services, school psychology services, alternative education programs, and school social work/visiting teacher services, provided individually or through a team approach, to all students at all grade levels.

(2)  Requirements.

• (a) Each local school system shall develop a Student Services Plan that prescribes and identifies programs and services that incorporate school climate improvement and management processes.
• (b) Each Student Services Plan must minimally include guidelines for the systematic provision of the following components:
• 1. Alternative education programs;
• 2. School psychological services;
• 3. School climate management;
• 4. School counseling and guidance services;
• 5. School health services;
• 6. School social work/visiting teacher services.
• (c) The local board of education (LBOE) shall provide for a School Climate Management Process to include improved student behavior and discipline in accordance with state and federal laws and State Board of Education rules regarding the Improved Student Learning Environment and Discipline Act of 1999.
• (d) The LBOE shall provide for School Guidance and Counseling Services in accordance with state and federal laws, State Board of Education rules, and department guidelines.
• (e) The LBOE shall provide School Social Work/Visiting Teacher Services by promoting home, school, and community cooperation to address the needs of the at-risk student population characterized by poverty, high absenteeism, academic failure, pregnancy, disruptive behavior or other student dysfunctions.
• (f) The LBOE shall provide for School Psychological Services sufficient to satisfy federal and state regulations and additional legal obligations incurred through court agreement.
• (g) The LBOE shall provide an Alternative Education Program in accordance with state and federal laws, State Board of Education rules, and department guidelines.
• (h) The LBOE shall provide for a School Health Nurse Program and must establish policies and procedures regarding a School Health Nurse Program in accordance with state and federal laws.

This page provides information on Georgia Project AWARE, a grant program with the purpose to increase awareness of mental health issues among school-aged youth; provide training in Youth Mental Health First Aid; and connect children, youth, and families who may have behavioral health issues with appropriate services.

(a) Within the first 60 instructional days of the school year of a contract amendment or intervention contract pursuant to Code Section 20-14-45, turnaround coaches shall coordinate with each school to conduct individual assessments of those students who have been identified as low-performing and shall coordinate with schools to provide the following interventions, as agreed to by the turnaround coach and the school and based on available funding and resources, including the reallocation of existing resources and grant funding, if available, pursuant to subsection (c) of Code Section 20-14-48:

• (1) Screen all students to diagnose the factors for low performance, including, but not limited to, reading development and comprehension, math proficiencies, physical health, mental health, access to the Internet or other ancillary supports to out-of-school learning activities expected of students and evaluate all available records to address nonacademic barriers to learning in the lowest-performing schools; and
• (2) Provide students who have been identified as low-performing with academic support and enrichment activities, access to programs to promote parental involvement, access to supports for addressing and improving mental and physical health, access to a learning resource center for students and guardians to strengthen academic supports, positive behavioral interventions and supports, and access to expert supports, which may include, but not be limited to, data scientists, psychometric personnel, curriculum specialists, learning theorists, and special educators to help advise the schools on technical learning matters.

(b) Turnaround coaches shall assist local boards of education in identifying integrated student services utilizing the list of resources established by the Chief Turnaround Officer pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection (c) of Code Section 20-14-43. Local boards of education, in coordination with the turnaround coaches and the local school administration, shall create local collaborations to address personal and community conditions, which shall include the needs, issues, and problems within the communities of such school or schools, such as poverty, lack of economic development, safety, transportation options for parents and students, adult educational opportunities, wellness, and mental health services, and shall, in consultation with the turnaround coach, identify state and community resources that are available or that could be built upon, reallocated, or repurposed to address the issues impacting such school or schools.