Phase 1

The appropriate contact person at this stage is the faculty member closest to your child’s learning. Typically, this means your child's classroom teacher.

A referral is a notification to the Committee on Special Education that a student has demonstrated a need for support that has not been met by general education instruction or interventions. A referral can be made by a member of the faculty or by the parent/guardian.

Indicators of a need for support are protracted struggles in a particular academic, behavioral or social area. 

The school will use a variety of assessments, including local (classroom) assessments, NWEA Measures of Academic Progress and NYS standardized assessments.

School Aged (4.5-21 yrs) Committee on Special Education (CSE) initial eligibility testing.

At this stage, a child’s evaluation will include: 

• Parent interview to determine social history and development

• Psychological and psycho-educational evaluation 

• Classroom observation of your child 

• Medical evaluation/review of records (medical forms will need to be completed by your child’s health provider)

• Individual evaluations are conducted as required/upon request to determine eligibility of services and accommodations.  These may include but are not limited to, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, assistive technology, and/or a functional behavior assessment testing

The best first move is to reach out to the classroom teacher and ask them what they are observing. If the teacher is having the same concerns, they will meet with the MTSS (Multi-Tiered System Of Supports) committee to identify new classroom strategies that may be of benefit.

For a student to be identified as a “student with a disability” and therefore eligible for Special Education programs and services, the students academic performance must be “adversely affected” by one of the 13 educational disability classifications AND the student must need specially designed instruction or special services or programs to meet their unique needs. 

Although a student may be medically diagnosed with a condition (for example, autism, cerebral palsy, dyslexia, etc) this does not automatically make a person eligible for special education in the school setting. The disability must impede their learning and education in order for them to be “adversely affected.”

Section 504 provides support for students who present with a diagnosis (or symptomology of a diagnosis) that creates a significant gap between performance and expected performance. The purpose of a 504 is to bridge that gap with building or classroom accommodations that directly address the area of need. A 504 plan is different from an IEP in that it is not a Special Education plan and does not require that a child meet the criteria for one of the stated disabilities.

The MTSS committee is comprised of knowledgeable faculty members, a school psychologist/counselor and an administrator. It meets regularly to review children who may be demonstrating academic/social/behavioral needs and looks to identify, implement and track appropriate interventions that may benefit the learner.