The Student Support Process

About the Student Support Process

The Student Support Process (SSP) is a problem-solving process that helps to ensure that all students receive the support they need to succeed. While many use the SSP to refer students to Special Education, MTSS suggests schools team up earlier to offer the appropriate intervention that matches the need of the student. When this occurs, evidence has been gathered to either validate the Special Education referral or to show the school that a Tier 1 or Tier 2 intervention is what a student needs to thrive.

Keep scrolling to learn about the different SSP Tiered Teams your site should establish to support MTSS. Remember that team membership is neither exclusive nor isolatative. For example, a school psychologist or a counselor may play a role in more than one team. These teams exist to bring faculty and staff together to best serve their students.

SSP TEAMING

A structure to support the implementation of the SSP is crucial. Additionally, developing tiered teams that function within this structure to address the unique challenges of each school.

Participation in the Tiered Fidelity Inventory (TFI) is one way a school can evaluate the strength of their existing teams and help determine, if any, areas of improvement. For more information regarding the TFI or to schedule one for your campus, please contact the SBBH DES or SBBH Program Specialist.

Tier 1: School-Wide Systems

Universal Leadership Team

Installing the infrastructure

  • Identify Beliefs

  • Classroom Management Planning

Analyzing school-wide data

    • Academic and behavior data

    • Share data with faculty

Problem-solving system issues

    • What does the data say about the focus for behavior as an entire school?

    • What school wide interventions are necessary? SEL? Community Building?

    • Reinforcing good behavior

Evaluation

    • Continuous improvement

Monitor

  • Identify students who may need targeted supports

Tier 2: Targeted Groups of Students

Targeted Systems Team

Intervention Matching

  • Identify students using Tier 1 data

  • Create small groups to serve needs determined by data analysis (social skills, self-regulation, etc)

  • Match students to interventions using SIM

  • School Counselor Support Plan

Brief Counseling

  • Acute counseling or crisis support

Reinforcement

  • Support SEL in the classroom

  • Reinforce use of restorative practices

  • Maintain student access to Tier 1 supports

Monitor

  • Identify students who may need individualized supports

Tier 3: Individualized, Intensive Supports

Intensive Systems Team

Problem-Solving & Progress Monitoring

  • Identify students using Tier 2 data

  • Monitor and work with the few students who may need intensive supports

  • SBBH Support Plan

Ensure Access to Tier 1 & 2

  • Maintains student access to all Tier 1 and Tier 2 services offered by the district, school, and classroom.

Individualized Practice

  • Provides student access to individualized support to learn and practice skills needed for school success

SSP Team Membership

  • Administrators

  • School Counselors

  • Student Support Personnel (student service coordinator, curriculum coordinator, etc.)

  • School-based Behavioral Health personnel

  • General Ed. and SPED teachers

  • Others (family, student, support staff, bus driver, coach, community partners, etc.)

Student Support Process Team Practices

  • Hold regularly-scheduled meetings with norms and agendas

  • Invest in shared leadership

  • Use a systematic, problem solving process

  • Identify gaps in school processes in need of improvement

  • Use data-based decision making

  • Monitor progress toward goals

  • Implement evidence-based instruction and intervention

CLICK on the respective STAGES below to access a brief description of each stage this process is key at all tiers. Tier 1 would look at school wide data, Tier 2 would look at data after brief interventions, Tier 3 data would take into consideration the impact counseling may have on a student. At all times, students should be able to receive support at all tiers.

The SSP broken down in a step by step flowchart to provide teams a basic overview of the process. While this flowchart may not capture everything these is to consider when participating in data-based decision making, it provides a foundational starting point to build your teams process and procedures from. Click here to access the SSP Flowchart

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