The Referral Process for Special Education
The Referral Process for Special Education
Laura J. Cornelius
Grand Canyon University SPE 529N
March 15, 2014
The goal of a public school is to equally educate students in a least restrictive environment (LRE). When a student starts to display behavioral or academic problems, schools are obligated to find solutions to help. With the reauthorization of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 2004), Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS), and Response to Intervention (RTI), were supported as ways to determine levels of support and interventions for students displaying behavioral and/or academic concerns. PBIS is the older of the two interventions introduced during the reauthorization of IDEA in 1997. According to PBIS.org, PBIS is defined as “a framework for enhancing the adoption and implementation of a continuum of evidence-based interventions to achieve academically and behaviorally important outcomes for all students” (Sugai & Simonsen, 2012). PBIS is based on previous research and evidence to help promote reduced behavioral problems that affect learning in the LRE before special education services are explored and to reduce the number of classroom distractions due to misplaced behavior within the entire school. A three tier system is put into action focusing on the school as a whole, a specialized group of students with at risk behavior and the last focusing on the individual student and their targeted behavior (Grand Canyon University, 2011).
The first tier of intervention for PBIS will include school-wide, nonclassroom, and classroom. These interventions are generally meant to help more in a large group effort and to make behavior consistent throughout the school. If the previous reinforcements do not work, then it will trickle down to the individual student (Sugai & Simonsen, 2012).
A school-wide system is usually put into effect the first day of school to ensure students and staff know what appropriate
Laura J. Cornelius
Grand Canyon University SPE 529N
March 15, 2014
The goal of a public school is to equally educate students in a least restrictive environment (LRE). When a student starts to display behavioral or academic problems, schools are obligated to find solutions to help. With the reauthorization of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 2004), Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS), and Response to Intervention (RTI), were supported as ways to determine levels of support and interventions for students displaying behavioral and/or academic concerns. PBIS is the older of the two interventions introduced during the reauthorization of IDEA in 1997. According to PBIS.org, PBIS is defined as “a framework for enhancing the adoption and implementation of a continuum of evidence-based interventions to achieve academically and behaviorally important outcomes for all students” (Sugai & Simonsen, 2012). PBIS is based on previous research and evidence to help promote reduced behavioral problems that affect learning in the LRE before special education services are explored and to reduce the number of classroom distractions due to misplaced behavior within the entire school. A three tier system is put into action focusing on the school as a whole, a specialized group of students with at risk behavior and the last focusing on the individual student and their targeted behavior (Grand Canyon University, 2011).
The first tier of intervention for PBIS will include school-wide, nonclassroom, and classroom. These interventions are generally meant to help more in a large group effort and to make behavior consistent throughout the school. If the previous reinforcements do not work, then it will trickle down to the individual student (Sugai & Simonsen, 2012).
A school-wide system is usually put into effect the first day of school to ensure students and staff know what appropriate