Local News
Local News

Cobb boy fit the profile for Georgia’s ‘psychoeducational’ programs

By Alan Judd
April 29, 2016

A 7-year-old student from Cobb County fit the profile for Georgia's psychoeducational programs: male, diagnosed with a behavioral disorder — and black.

About 35 percent of Cobb County students are black, but African Americans make up 53 percent of those assigned to the Georgia Network for Educational and Therapeutic Support, or GNETS, according to an investigation by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Click here to see a breakdown, by school, of the Cobb students enrolled in GNETS.

Across Georgia, the Journal-Constitution found, schools send a disproportionate number of black students to the programs, segregating children by disability and race, the Journal-Constitution found.

Read the AJC's complete investigation here.

About the Author

Alan Judd is a former investigative reporter for the AJC. He has written about persistently dangerous apartment complexes in metro Atlanta, juvenile justice, child welfare, sexual abuse by physicians, patient deaths in state psychiatric hospitals, and other topics.

More Stories

The Latest

DeKalb County firefighter Preston Fant, 53, died while battling a commercial structure fire Sep. 8, officials said. (DeKalb County Fire Department)

Credit: DeKalb County Fire Department

Funeral to be held at Truist Park for fallen DeKalb firefighter

Cobb high school student stabbed to death by classmate, officials say

BREAKING

Arrest made in theft of unreleased Beyoncé music during Atlanta tour stop

Featured

Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) with Nathan J. Wade (right), the special prosecutor she hired to manage the Trump case and had a romantic relationship with, at a news conference announcing charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in Atlanta, Aug. 14, 2023. Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, upheld an appeals court's decision to disqualify Willis from the election interference case against Trump and his allies. (Kenny Holston/New York Times)

Credit: NYT

Fani Willis loses last chance to stay at the helm of Trump Georgia election interference case

Georgia's top court declines to hear Fani Willis appeal in Trump case, meaning she can no longer pursue the election interference case.

Investigator: Ex-APD officer raped woman on duty, returned when she called 911

Fulton County Magistrate Judge Todd Ashley ruled there was enough evidence for the case to proceed against former officer Muhammad Muhammad.

Cobb County agency green lights tax break for Home Depot’s $140M project

The Development Authority of Cobb County voted 6-0 to give initial approval for Home Depot's request Tuesday but didn't disclose the property tax savings the company sought.