Paraprofessional support

The Bottom Line

Support from a paraprofessional is considered a special education service. When it is necessary for a student to receive paraprofessional support, the IEP must include:

A statement specific to the student's need for a paraprofessional
The specific responsibilities of the paraprofessional

Consideration of Paraprofessional Support

Our obligation is to serve students in the least restrictive environment, and the utilization of paraprofessional support is a highly restrictive intervention. Research indicates that students with paraprofessional support receive less attention from certified classroom teachers, are more socially isolated, are less self-determined/motivated, and are more dependent on adults. Compared to a certified teacher, paraprofessionals are more likely to over-prompt, over-modify, and otherwise over-assist, which impedes students' productive struggle and limits their opportunities to learn and grow.

Students truly have a need for paraprofessional support when that support is necessary to increase their access to the general education curriculum (i.e., accommodations, modifications, or Assistive Technology (AT) cannot be implemented by the general education teacher alone), and there must always be a plan in place to build students' independence and fade the paraprofessional support.

Before adding or increasing paraprofessional support, several conditions must be met:

Frequency and intensity of the medical, behavioral, or academic needs of the student exceed the capability of the existing site staff
Other interventions have been attempted without success
Additional paraprofessional support is required to implement the student’s IEP
Results of the observation and review of records show that the school has developed an implementation plan that includes goals and objectives that will address student independence, the type, amount and expected duration of the additional support service, and a process for determining when service can be reduced or eliminated

Questions for IEP Teams to Consider

1. Define what independence looks like for the student.

What is the criteria to determine success?
What is the student capable of doing on their own without assistance?
Where do we want skills to be in one year?

2. What skills does the student need to be independent?

What are the main health, academic, and/or behavior concerns that are impeding the student from making progress?
How pervasive is this concern (i.e., frequency, duration, severity, location of problem)?
What skills does student need to improve to be successful & independent?

3. How will the student acquire/learn those skills?

What interventions/strategies have been attempted? What was the outcome of those interventions/strategies?
Are there AT devices to assist the student to be more independent without para support?
Is para support directly related to a student goal?

4. What existing supports are in place for the student?

What can we change in the student's environment (classroom, people, hallways, etc.)?
What does progress monitoring data tell us about the current supports?
What is the frequency, duration, and intensity of the support needed?

Shared Paraprofessional Support

Shared (i.e., "non-child specific") support means that a paraprofessional can be shared with more than one student during a specified period or task. Although they may happen to only be assigned to one student during a specified period or task, because the support is not child-specific, the para could assist other students as the need arises.

Documentation

On the Accommodations, Modifications, & Supports page of the IEP form in SpEd Forms, describe the paraprofessional support that will be provided. Include:
- What: the specific support needed (What will the paraprofessional do?)
- When: the condition(s) that triggers the support (When do they need to do it?)
- Where: the environment(s) in which the support is needed (Where will the paraprofessional be assigned to offer the support?)
On the Services page of the IEP form in SpEd Forms, check the box next to "Non-child specific adult support is described in accommodations."

Continuum of Shared Para Supports

Minimal Support

A general statement which uses a program para to redirect, assist in non-continuing situations, check-homework, check in/out, resource, etc.

For example: "If in any school setting Ben engages in disruptive behavior, corrective teaching is attempted without successful resolution, and Ben is referred to the resource room for behavior processing, a shared program paraprofessional, under the supervision of a qualified professional, will be available to provide redirection and intervention for behavior, including observation and monitoring."

Some Support

Specified times or activities for one or more times throughout the day.

For example: "Rob will have access to shared paraprofessional support during lunch and recess to support generalization of self-regulation skills to less structured school settings. The paraprofessional will monitor Rob for visual indicators of frustration and, when detected, provide an early gestural or verbal prompt for Rob to engage in an appropriate self-regulation strategy."

High Support

Specified times or activities; could be used all day long.

For example: "During her math, English, social studies, and science classes, a shared paraprofessional will assist certified staff with implementation of Ginger's Behavior Support Plan, including providing: proactive pre-teaching, gestural/verbal behavioral redirection, visual calming cues in the form of picture cards provided by the special education teacher, and sensory breaks every 45 minutes to reduce Ginger's stressful reaction when over-stimulated."

Child-Specific Paraprofessional Support

Unlike shared paraprofessional support, child-specific (or "one-on-one") support cannot be shared with any other students. The paraprofessional is assigned to one student during a specified time period or task and should only assist that student during that time. The assigned paraprofessional must always be available to help the student immediately.

It does not need to be provided for the entire school day. Examples of specific activities where child-specific support might be provided include morning check-ins and transitions between classes.

Documentation

On Services page of the IEP, click yes.
Click add Paraprofessional Support.
Specify the type of paraprofessional support, start/end dates, frequency, minutes per session, location, and anticipated duration.
Describe the student's needs and the responsibilities of the para.

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