Kansas Special Education Regulations require that each school have a General Education Intervention (GEI) process. The districts that are a part of the Cooperative have adopted the Student Improvement Team (SIT) process. The Kansas State Department of Education supports the SIT process. Each school is required to have a SIT team.
General Education is responsible for the SIT process. Special education teachers and support staff can be resources to the SIT process. The role of special education staff in the SIT process must follow these guidelines.
School Psychologists: School psychologists may be involved at any point in the process. They must attend the Level 3 meeting when the team is discussing the need for a comprehensive special education evaluation. It is advisable to involve the school psychologist as early in the process as possible. School psychologists have been trained in instructional strategies, data and the analysis of assessments. They can be a valuable resource to the SIT process.
Related Service Providers (Speech and Language Pathologist (SLP), Occupational Therapist (OT), Physical Therapist (PT), Social Worker etc.): may be involved at any point in the process. Related service providers may work in the general education classroom with a student who is having difficulty. The intervention must be documented on the SIT paperwork. The intervention may occur 3-4 sessions for the purpose of modeling that intervention to the general education teacher. The intervention should occur as a natural part of the classroom instruction. The intervention should not isolate the student from their general education classroom or peers.
Related Service Providers (RSPs) must be notified prior to the first SIT meeting if the primary concern is in an area of the related service provider’s area of expertise. The RSP will assist the SIT coordinator in how to proceed. RSPs may pull student from general education for intervention only with consent from the legal education decision maker. They may work directly with a student for up to 12 sessions as long as the intervention is documented on the SIT plan. At the end of the 12 sessions, an evaluation for related services must occur if concerns are still present. If there are no longer concerns, the student should be dismissed from the SIT process.
Special Education Teachers: Special education teachers may be involved at any point in the SIT process. The special education teacher may be a standing member of the team as a resource. Special education teachers may work in the general education classroom with a student who is having academic or behavior concerns. The intervention may occur 3-4 sessions for the purpose of modeling an intervention, so the general education teacher can implement the intervention as specified in the SIT plan. The intervention should occur as a natural part of the classroom instruction. The intervention should not isolate the student from their general education classroom or peers. The student should not be in the special education classroom to address academic or behavior concerns during the SIT process.
Special Education Para-educators: Para-educators cannot be a standing member of the SIT team. A para-educator’s role is to carry out instruction, not assist with designing the plan. Para-educators may provide incidental support to a student with a SIT plan. The support must occur in the general education classroom during the time the para-educator is assigned to that class to work with students with disabilities as part of their IEPs.