Study of the Mount Diablo Unified School District - Mt. Diablo Unified ...

Policies, Procedures, and Complianceteachers are operating outside of the school‐based team process. Furthermore, the 202referrals from other school personnel and sources suggest the need for stronger supportsfor the buildings and staff to assist students in their home environment.Typically, the school‐based team sets the criteria that teachers must follow in makingreferrals and oversees the entire referral and evaluation process. Further, the school‐basedteam should review referral documentation and any other supplemental informationprovided, and determine how to best address the concerns. The team should have theoption to decide to proceed immediately with an evaluation, gather more informationbefore making a decision, or continue to implement interventions in the general educationclassroom.Considerations for Issue 4‐5:• Document the reason for referrals for evaluation of special education services.Teachers should be directed to work within stated processes and initiate a referralonly when there is data to support going to an outside multidisciplinary team.Teachers must also have an understanding that, in most cases, the student willremain in the general education class and academic core. All participants mustrealize that testing a child is an expensive process that requires the involvement ofmany specialized staff members at great cost. Unnecessary referrals only takeaway from the services and financial resources that are needed by other children.It is inappropriate for teachers to bypass the SST process and ask a parent toinitiate a referral.• Ensure that parents understand that testing their child is not an entitlement, but achild’s right if it is suspected that the child has a disability (IDEA 2004). Testing forpurposes other than identification and location misuses the intention of IDEA andpotentially discriminates against those individuals without a disability.• Provide professional development on strategies to be employed in the classroom,the pre‐referral process, and the RTI guidelines either once each semester in ameeting or offer the training once and record it.Cost Implications for Issue 4‐5:Costs for this recommendation are associated with professional development. Allocation ofprofessional development funds from IDEA, Title I, or Title II funds could be considered forthis purpose. Once the staff is trained in pre‐referral and RTI and they receive developmenton remedial and behavioral management skills, the need for support staff should belessened. The very least that should occur is that current staff should be utilized for theconsiderations detailed above.MGT of America, Inc. Page 4‐11