Procedures for Speech Only Students to Consider Another Area of Eligibility

There are two ways this usually happens:

• 1. Academic or behavioral concerns are raised by an IEP team member during the student’s Annual Review.

  2. Academic or behavioral concerns are raised by a teacher at any time that are not addressed in the student’s current IEP.

Step 1

If an annual review is due for a speech-only student, the SLP will document academic and behavioral present levels in the IEP. If a student is already in RTI, the SLP will also document the area(s) of concern, interventions implemented, frequency and duration of RTI interventions as well as RTI progress monitoring in the IEP. If a student is not in RTI and academic and/or behavioral concerns are raised, the SLP will document the information/concerns in the IEP and refer the student to the RTI team.

Step 2

Interventions will be implemented through the RTI process. The student’s RTI information should also be clearly documented in IEP.

Step 3

Follow RTI process to begin interventions (General Ed. Teacher). Begin Tier 2 interventions and monitor progress. (See Tier 2 Procedures section if needed)

Step 4

If not successful, the team can decide to move to Tier 3. The file must be approved by a school-based RTI Review Committee that contains at least one SPED staff member (could be SLP or SPED teacher). Assistant Principal emails Mindy Watkins AND copies SLP once file has been approved at the school for Tier 3. (See Tier 3 Procedures section if needed)

Step 5

Lead diagnostician, Sherry Taylor, sends official Tier 3 approval email to Assistant Principal, Lead Special Education Teacher, SLP, Special Education Coordinator, and diagnostician.

Step 6

SIGNED B4 and current passed hearing and vision screening should be uploaded to Infinite Campus. Completed Teacher BASCs (all referrals) and ABAS (if needed) are placed in yellow folder for diagnostician. Lead Sped teacher can then schedule diagnostician for WIAT and WMLS-III (if needed for Spanish speakers).

Contact diagnosticians as appropriate:

• • • Students 7 and older: schedule WIAT-3; leave Teacher BASC-3 for diagnostician in yellow folder

    • Students under 7: leave Teacher BASC-3 for diagnostician in yellow folder; consult with school psychologist to determine whether developmental screening (DP-3 and ABAS-3) or academic achievement testing is most appropriate

    • For students with a Spanish or Vietnamese language background, contact Marcelo Artega to schedule WMLS-III.

**The ABAS-3 should be considered when there are concerns about a child's adaptive functioning (consult with school psychologist when in doubt).

Step 7

Continue progress monitoring and documenting progress monitoring data in Infinite Campus weekly. Continue meeting every 4-6 weeks to review the progress monitoring data, discuss the student’s progress toward the goal(s) and evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention(s). When diagnostic screening results are available, school psychologist will review results. Document all meetings on Meeting Minutes document in RTI Documents on Infinite Campus.

The SLP must attend Tier 3 RTI meetings. Parents should be invited to each tier 3 meeting (use Form B7).

Step 8

Review Data (progress monitoring) of interventions as well as speech goals with Special Education Coordinator and the RTI Team. Intervention plan must be modified if student doesn't make adequate progress.

If the team finds the student is not making adequate progress, you may adjust your intervention(s) keeping the following things in mind:

• • Will the group size, duration, and frequency of each intervention delivery provide sufficient opportunities to respond? (Refers to the number of opportunities a student has to respond (practice/demonstrate skill), receive positive feedback, and receive corrective feedback.)

  • Does the intervention match to the student’s identified needs?

  • Does the intervention include following?

    • • Provides explanations in simple, direct language.

      • Models efficient strategies (e.g. decoding unknown words) instead of expecting students to discover on their own.

      • Ensures students have the necessary background knowledge and skills to succeed with those strategies.

      • Gradually fades support for students’ correct execution of those strategies.

      • Provides practice so students use the strategies to generate many correct responses.

If the student is making progress, determine whether or not the student’s end-of-year performance goal needs to be increased (if goal is below end of grade level expectations), if no changes need to be made, or if the student should return to Tier 2.

If, after no less than two DBI cycles, insufficient progress is made, the team may decide to submit a request for a SPED Evaluation in the form of a Re-Evaluation.

Step 9

Because the student already has an IEP, this is technically considered a re-evaluation where the case manager would normally take the lead on the re-evaluation process and upcoming eligibility meeting. However, the case manager for a Speech-only student is the SLP, and in this case the Special Education Lead Teacher at the school should take the lead on the re-evaluation process and upcoming eligibility meeting. Please follow all Re-Evaluation procedures set forth by the Special Education Department.

Note: Parent Request Re-Evaluation Procedures for Speech-Only Students

Interventions would still need to be implemented through the RTI process, but instead of submitting the student for a Simultaneous Tier 3/SPED Evaluation request, the student would technically be submitted as a Tier 3 referral, then a Re-Evaluation. This can be done simultaneously as well.

The Tier 3 referral would come from the Assistant Principal/RTI Lead, and the SLP and SPED coordinator would be copied on the email. You would make note in the e-mail that the student already has an IEP for speech. Once you get the Tier 3 approval from Sherry, you will obtain the signed B4 permission, have the H/V screening completed, and complete Teacher BASCs and ABAS (if needed) and place those in the yellow diagnostician folder for diagnosticians. The Assistant Principal would then schedule diagnostician for the WIAT and WMLS-III (if needed). A Tier 3 meeting would be held, with the SLP in attendance, to review diagnostics and to modify interventions if the student isn’t making progress.

Simultaneously, the case manager for a speech-only student is the SLP, and in this case the Special Education Lead Teacher at the school should take the lead on the re-evaluation process and upcoming eligibility meeting. Please follow all Re-Evaluation procedures set forth by the Special Education Department.

March 2021

Hall County Student Services