Prereferral, Referral, and Eligibility

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Pre-referral, Referral, and Eligibility

• Jessica Murray, M.Ed.
• HCS Psychological Services
• January 23, 2008

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Steps to Student Referrals

• Teacher observation and documentation of student
  performance
• Record review
• Grade level teams
• SIT referral
• Implement interventions
• Conference with administration
• Child Study referral
• Child Study and Eligibility meetings

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At-Risk Students

• Fail beginning of the year assessments
• Have been retained before
• Have needed remedial services in the past

• Have attendance issues
• Have discipline issues
• Have limited educational exposure outside of the
  school setting
• Poor parent involvement

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Student Intervention Team (SIT)

• Obtain a referral form from case manager
• Complete and return the form
• A meeting will be scheduled
• Team members present are administrator, you,
  parent, counselor, other related personnel

• The purpose of the meeting is to review areas of
  concern and areas of strength, review the
  interventions completed in the past, brainstorm
  new interventions, and make a plan for follow-up

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Decision Time

• Depending on the follow-up meeting, the committee
  could make several decisions
• Has the student accessed all available services
  to meet their needs and they are still not making
  progress? -Go to Child Study
• Are the interventions working and the student has
  what they need to build success?-Continue plan
  and utilize SIT as needed

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Good Referrals to Make

• Students who have not made academic gains/
  behavioral improvements despite interventions
• Students with medical diagnosis that impacts
  educational performance
• Students earning Ds or Fs in one or more subjects
  who have good attendance
• Students with behavioral challenges who are not
  choosing to behave in a negative manner

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Referral to Child Study

• Discuss referral with administration
• Inform case manager that you would like to make a
  referral
• Complete referral form and turn in to case
  manager
• Meeting within 10 days

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Child Study

• Team consists of administrator or designee,
  referral source, classroom teacher, parent or
  guardian, special education teacher, school
  social worker, school psychologist, others as
  appropriate
• Options as the result of a Child Study Meeting
  Refer to SIT, HCS resources, community services,
  H-FAPT, 504 eval, Special Ed eval, or No further
  action, intervention strategies (return to child
  study)

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What to Bring to a Child Study Meeting

• Report card/Progress report
• Standardized assessments (Lets Go Learn, PALS,
  benchmark scores, previous SOL data, etc.)
• List of interventions and accommodations and be
  able to speak about their success
• Relevant work samples

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During the Meeting

• Discuss current performance
• Inform parents of possible outcomes
• Decisions are based on a vote and the majority
  rules

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Child is in the Evaluation Process

• Areas of potential testing
• Educational
• Medical
• Socio-cultural
• Psychological
• Speech and Language
• Classroom Observation
• Hearing, vision, OT, etc.
• Timelines 50/65 days

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Teachers Role Throughout the Process

• Expert at the meeting
• Students will be removed from classroom to
  complete assessments
• May be asked to complete rating scales
• May need to participate in interview for
  additional student information
• Administrators may observe student in class
• May need to attend eligibility meeting

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Eligibility Meeting

• Eligibility Committee members special education
  eligibility coordinator, school psychologist,
  school social worker, parent, administrator or
  designee, teacher
• Members consider results of requested
  evaluations, cumulative records, and classroom
  performance.
• Team reviews Special Education criteria and comes
  to consensus.

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Eligibility- Who qualifies?

• Must meet the criteria for one of the special
  education categories
• Must show a need for special education services
  (typically student is making Ds and Fs and/or
  is failing all assessments despite interventions)

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Special Education Categories

• Autism
• Deaf/Blindness
• Developmental Delay
• Emotional Disturbance
• Hearing Impairment
• Mental Retardation
• Multiple Disabilities
• Orthopedic Impairment

• Other Health Impaired
• Severe/Profound
• Specific Learning Disabilities
• Speech/Language
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Visual Impairment

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Definition of a Learning Disability

• Average ability
• Severe discrepancy
• Processing deficit
• Exclusionary component

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New LD Addendum

• Teachers will need to be present or participate
  in the eligibility meeting
• Now have to provide documentation about
  interventions done in the areas of reading and
  math

• Documentation of progress through repeated
  assessments
• Will need to state specific program used to
  remediate problem area

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Emotional Disturbance

• Inability to learn
• Inability to build or maintain relationships
• Inappropriate behaviors or feelings under normal
  circumstances
• General pervasive mood of unhappiness or
  depression
• Tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears

• Excludes Social Maladjustment Student usually
  demonstrates knowledge of social expectations but
  chooses not to conform to those expectations

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Remember

• Get help from others
• Administrators
• Curriculum specialists/ Title I
• Counselor, psychologist, social worker
• Special educator
• Grade level teammates/ SIT

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Questions??

• Thank you for your time!