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Support Team Education Plan (STEP) Program
Support Team Education Plan (STEP) Program
Introduction
Introduction
The Support Team Education Plan (STEP) Program is a collaborative process that brings together students, parents/guardians, teachers, and administrators to seek positive solutions based on a student's strengths and special needs to help that student benefit from his or her education and to facilitate participation in the Catholic school curriculum. A synopsis of the program -- STEP Form 15 - STEP Handout for Parents -- is available for prospective and current parents.
Every school must appoint a Support Team Education Plan Coordinator (STEP coordinator), who is the principal or principal's designee and is responsible for overseeing and directing the STEP Program. In response to a student's needs, the STEP coordinator assembles a STEP Team, which consists of the parents/guardians, the classroom or homeroom teacher, the STEP coordinator, other school personnel as needed, and the student when appropriate. The STEP Team gathers information and data regarding the student from a variety of sources, including grade reports, standardized testing results, samples of class work, discipline records, questionnaires, interviews, psycho-educational reports, medical records, etc. to develop the student's STEP. See, STEP Form 16 - STEP Form Summary Guide for Teachers and Administrators.
Excerpt from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles Administrative Handbook. Updated: 5-11-21. Please see Chapter 14 Section 2 Support Team Education (STEP) Program.
Procedures and Documentation
Procedures and Documentation
1) Classroom Support Log
As soon as a student has an ongoing need for support in the classroom (whether identified by the student, parents/guardians, and/or teacher), the teacher should begin keeping a record of classroom strategies and supports he or she has implemented to help the student, and concurrently work with the parents/guardians and notify the STEP coordinator. Using STEP Form 1 - Classroom Support Log, the teacher should record the date, note strategies attempted, note the results or effect of each strategy, and keep a record of parent/guardian communications. See Sample Form 1a. If the student shows progress after the teacher implements the strategy, the teacher should continue the support as needed.
2) Referral to STEP Coordinator
If the student does not respond positively to the teacher's strategies or adjustments, the teacher requests a meeting with the STEP coordinator by completing the request for meeting in Part 2 of the Classroom Support Log. See Sample Form 1b.
3) Request, Scheduling and Preparation for STEP Meeting
The STEP coordinator reviews the request the teacher submitted and decides whether a STEP meeting is needed. If a meeting is needed, the STEP coordinator assembles the STEP team, gathers information, and sends STEP Form 2 - Notice of Support Team Education Plan Meeting to the parents/guardians to set up a mutually agreeable time for a meeting with the STEP team. See Sample STEP Form 2. Once a meeting date and time has been set, the STEP coordinator notifies the other members of the STEP team. The STEP team gathers documentation of the student's current performance levels, including class work, standardized test scores, disciplinary actions, attendance records, IEP, 504 plan and/or psycho-educational assessments, medical records and any other relevant information.
4) Parent Questionnaire
The STEP coordinator sends a STEP Form 3A - Parent Questionnaire to the parents/guardians to complete and return to the STEP team.
5) Student Questionnaire
The teacher asks the student to complete a grade-level appropriate Student Questionnaire at school and the teacher submits the completed form to the STEP team.
6) Creating the STEP
If parents provide the school with an IEP, 504 plan or psycho-educational assessment, the STEP Coordinator meets with parents to complete STEP Form 9 - Documented Professionally Diagnosed Disability Worksheet. Completion of STEP Form 9 does not eliminate the requirement to prepare and complete STEP Form 5.
Before the meeting, the STEP team may create a preliminary STEP for presentation to the parents at the STEP meeting. During the STEP meeting, the STEP team creates a STEP or updates the preliminary STEP based on input from teachers and parents. See STEP Form 5 - Support Team Education Plan. Parents/guardians and STEP team members sign the STEP.
Excerpt from the Arcdiocese of Los Angeles Administrative Handbook. Updated: 5-11-21. Please see Chapter 14 Section 2-1 - Preliminary Procedures and Documentation.
Support Team Education Plan (STEP) Meeting and Documentation
Support Team Education Plan (STEP) Meeting and Documentation
Agenda for STEP Meeting
At the STEP Meeting, the STEP coordinator gives all participants the STEP Form 4 - STEP Agenda and Sign-in Sheet and ensures that they sign the document. The STEP Meeting Agenda shall be as follows:
Opening prayer
Introduce STEP team members and relationship to student.
Determine the student's strengths.
Analyze the gathered information and data regarding the student.
Prioritize concerns regarding the student's challenges and needs.
Create or finalize a STEP that:
Prioritizes support strategies, including classroom, school, home, and other strategies.
Identifies the person responsible for implementing each strategy or adjustment.
Develops a timeline to implement the supports.
Sets up dates for follow-up evaluations and meetings.
Complete all necessary documents and obtain all required signatures if STEP has been agreed to and finalized.
Provide copy of the finalized STEP to the parents/guardians. STEP Form 5 - Plan
If the plan is not finalized, the STEP coordinator will distribute the plan to the STEP team for final revisions, changes, additions prior to approval and signature (See Sample STEP Form 5 - Plan)
Schedule dates for follow-up meetings to monitor student progress and results.
Adjourn.
Procedural Safeguards for Students with Disabilities
At the meeting, if the student has a professionally diagnosed disability, the STEP team must provide the parents/guardians a copy of the archdiocesan pamphlet STEP Form 6 - Procedural Safeguards for Students with Disabilities and Their Parents or Guardians. The STEP team should communicate to the parents/guardians any recommendations for further testing and evaluation. To obtain necesssary medical or other confidential information, the STEP coordinator provides the parents STEP Form 11 - Authorization to Release/Exchange Confidential Information.
If a professional diagnosis provides that the student requires minor adjustments to participate in standardized testing, the test administrator must review the exam publisher's directions to be sure that such adjustments do not invalidate the exam.
STEP Follow-up and Progress Log
The STEP coordinator fills out STEP Form 10 - Teacher Summary and STEP Intervention Checklist and provides a copy to the student's teacher(s). Each STEP team member should use the STEP Form 7 - Progress Log to implement his or her part of the STEP plan strategies and/or minor adjustments and to monitor student progress and the effect of the various strategies or adjustments. See Sample STEP Form 7.
Review Meeting
The STEP team reconvenes on the scheduled review meeting date. If the student has shown progress after implementation of the STEP, the STEP team continues the strategies as needed. If the student does not show progress within the timelines delineated within the STEP, the STEP team makes adjustments to the plan.
Public School Assessment Request
If the student continues to struggle after implementation of the STEP and after adjustments to the plan have not met with success, the parents/guardians may wish to submit the STEP Form 8 - Parent Request for Assessment from Public School to the local public school for an educational assessment.
Public School Plans
A public school may generate documents such as an IEP or a Section 504 plan that reflect what the public school will do for the student if he or she goes to the public school.
A public school may generate an Individual Services Plan (ISP) to reflect what the public school will do for a student who remains in a private school.
While these documents can be helpful in gathering information about the student, they reflect what the public school promises to do for the student, and do not create a duty or require action by the private school.
Filing and Storing Documents
STEP documents are not a part of the student's Cumulative Pupil Records and are not transferable without parent/guardian written consent. The school must create a separate file for each student who has STEP documentation and retain these files in a secure location for a period of five (5) years following the student's graduation or departure from the school. See the "Section 504 (student inclusion)" entry in the Record Retention Schedule (sorted by category and record type).
Report Cards and Cumulative Records
As a general rule, a report card sent to parents/guardians should not contain information about a student's special needs or disability, including whether the student received minor adjustments or related services, as long as the report card informs parents/guardians about their child's progress or level of achievement in specific classes, course content, or curriculum. If teachers wish to inform parents/guardians about a child's minor adjustments, they should do so on a separate document and not on the report card. Transcripts or cumulative folders shall not contain information that identifies a student as having a disability because they are sent to third parties rather than parents/guardians. Consequently, no report cards from an elementary school should be sent to a high school to which a student is applying, if the elementary school includes information on any report card about a student's special needs or disability.
Excerpt from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles Administrative Handbook. Updated: 5-18-21. Please see Chapter 14 Section 2-2 - Support Team Education Plan (STEP) Meeting and Documentation
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