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 grade-level Kid Talk Team.
The student is discussed at the weekly Kid Talk
meeting using systematic problem-solving. The
problem is clearly defined and baseline data are
collected regarding how much or how little the
behavior of concern is noted or the degree to which
the student has mastered particular instructional
objectives. Hypotheses for the gap between current
and expected performance are generated and analyzed.
Measurable goals are set and an intervention is
developed which addresses the hypotheses deemed to
be most relevant.
After one to two weeks, the Kid Talk Team
analyzes data based evidence regarding 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 three course of action ensue: (1)
modifications to the intervention may be made and
implemented; (2) the Kid Talk Team requests
assistance from the IIT, where further suggestions
regarding intervention strategies may be made or a
referral to the IEP team may be recommended.
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.
