Questions and Answers

Why should a teacher or parent refer a child?

• The reason you would want to refer a child is because you believe the current programming is not helping the child make the gains necessary to be functioning at grade level or meeting his/her potential.

What is the first step to a referral as a teacher?

• The very first step to a referral is differentiating your instruction to make sure you are meeting the child’s learning style.  The primary goal is to make the adjustments to your instruction to see if you can get the child to learn at the expected rate.  If this cannot be done by the teacher alone, you would then refer the child to the Student Study team to discuss options.

Can a parent refer a child?

• The classroom teacher, the parent or the Student Study team can refer a child.  A parent referral should run through the RtI steps even if the teacher is seeing no concerns.  We want to make sure that we are documenting the parents concerns and going through the additional checks.

Does a referral mean that someone else will become responsible for the child?

• No, the teacher is ultimately responsible for making sure the child is getting the necessary programming he/she needs to make the gains.  However, the Student Study team is there to help coordinate services and act as another set of eyes on the child.

What if the child has been referred in previous years?

• As with a first time referral, if you feel the child is not responding to the current programming at a rate needed to meet the grade level expectation, then you should re-refer the child.  The referral process is the same as a 1st time referral.