When a teacher has a concern regarding a
student's academic performance or behavior, he or
she implements informal strategies typically used by
teachers to address these concerns. These may
include: changing instructional groupings, providing
additional structure in the form of rubrics or
outlines, instituting a simple behavior management
system, or rearranging classroom seating. If these
informal interventions are successful in alleviating
the concerns, the teacher will continue to institute
them as long as they are necessary. If, however, the
student is not making sufficient progress
academically or behaviorally, the teacher requests
assistance from the building-level IIT.
Once the Request for Assistance form is
completed, a copy is given to the individual
designated as the team's Systems Manager. The
Systems Manager is responsible for presenting the
Request for Assistance to IIT members during a
regularly scheduled meeting time. The time between
the receipt of the Request for Assistance and
presentation to the team should be one week or less.
When possible, the requesting teacher may be present
at the IIT meeting in which the Request for
Assistance is being presented in order to clarify
the concern. The Systems Manager of the IIT is also
responsible for recording updates of all cases
during each meeting.
Once the request is presented, a Case Manager
volunteers from the IIT to work with the teacher in
a collaborative, consultative fashion using a
systematic problem-solving process. The Case Manager
is responsible for working with the requesting
teacher to identify the problem, set goals, develop
interventions, and monitor the effectiveness of
interventions.
Case Managers and requesting teachers use the
Student Documentation Form (SDF) to document the
problem solving process. One component of the form,
the Goal Attainment Scale, is used to identify
referral concerns in observable, measurable terms;
prioritize concerns; record whether the student is
at instructional level; record the student's current
level of performance (i.e., baseline data); and
record reasonable and attainable short- and
long-term goals. The form provides a location to
record the specifics of the intervention, that is
developed collaboratively by the case manager and
referring teacher, as well as a graph upon which the
student's progress towards goals is recorded on a
regular basis.
The team Facilitator, who has received training
in group process and problem solving, facilitates
the weekly IIT meetings. The Facilitator is
responsible for organizing team meetings to ensure
that all items on the agenda are discussed, that
minutes are recorded, and that each teacher who
requests assistance for a student is assigned to a
Case Manager. The Facilitator also plans and
delivers training for team members in problem
solving skills and collaborates with the
administration to ensure IIT is supporting school
goals (i.e., SIT goals, decrease disproportionality).
Requesting teachers are invited to all formal
case reviews in order to provide input on their
students progress and to get additional ideas and
support from the team. As part of the case review
process, the data collected by the requesting
teacher and Case Manager are analyzed to determine
the effectiveness of the interventions. If the
student is meeting short-term goals, the
intervention is continued. If, after a well-designed
intervention has been implemented, the team
determines that the student has made insufficient
progress towards goals, one of two courses of action
ensue: (1) modifications to the intervention may be
made and implemented; (2) the team may consider
whether or not to refer a student to the IEP team.
IMPORTANT: When a parent or teacher suspects that
a student may have a disability, the timeline
begins. All assessments for an initial evaluation
must be recommended and completed concurrently
within 60-calendar days from receipt of parental
consent for the evaluation or 90-calendar days from
the receipt of the referral, whichever comes first,
to the completion of the Evaluation Report at the
IEP team meeting. The provision to refer to IEP from
the IIT cannot delay the process.
