Response to Intervention (RtI) Helen Keller Elementary School Primary Years Programme Special Educational Needs Policy Helen Keller Elementary implements an instructional approach, Response to Intervention (RtI) that applies the Primary Years Program (PYP) utilizing inclusive teaching techniques, which provides all students with the instruction they need for learning success. The goal of RtI is to intervene early, when students begin to struggle with learning, to prevent them from falling behind and developing learning difficulties. Teachers design the optimal learning experiences for all students, including all those who have special educational needs, so that the PYP framework is experienced. Differentiated instruction shapes the curriculum and instruction to maximize learning potential for all students in different ways. Our RtI is a framework for providing high quality instruction built on these essential components with fidelity and in a rigorous manner: High quality classroom instruction: All students receive high quality, research based instruction in the classroom. Ongoing student assessment: All students progress is monitored frequently to examine student achievement and gauge the effectiveness of the curriculum. Tiered instruction: A multi tiered approach is used to efficiently differentiate instruction for all students. The model incorporates increasing intensities of instruction offering specific, research based interventions matched to the individual student needs. Our school
response to RtI is a multi tiered approach that creates a well balanced system of support for diverse student learners. Tier 1: High quality classroom instruction, screening and group interventions Within Tier 1, all students receive high quality instruction by highly qualified personnel to ensure their difficulties are not due to inadequate instruction or curriculum. All students are screened on a periodic basis to establish both academic and behavioral baselines and to identify struggling learners. Tier 2: Targeted interventions Students not making adequate progress in the classroom are provided with increasingly intensive instruction matched to their needs on the basis of levels of performance and rates of progress. Intensity varies across group size, frequency and duration of intervention, and level of training of the professionals providing instruction or intervention. Tier 3: Intensive Interventions At this level, students receive individualized interventions that target the student s skill deficits. Intensive, individualized interventions through Tier 3 are usually implemented for a period of approximately 9 weeks with evidence of regularly scheduled curriculum based monitoring. Referral: At any point in the RtI process, to meet the needs of students with disabilities a federal law, Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) is designed to protect the rights of students with disabilities and to provide a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). State and Federal laws must be adhered to and the appropriate accommodations must be made. The United States government guarantees each preschool and school age child an education in the least restrictive environment which aligns to the IB philosophy. Special education services address the individual needs of students with disabilities that may include individual or small group instruction, curriculum or teaching modifications/accommodations, and physical/ occupational/speech therapy, regular classroom, instruction through special teaching, or instruction through approved contracts. Instruction shall be supplemented by the provision of related services when appropriate. Education Code 29.003(a)
Parent Involvement: Provide parents information about their child s progress, the instruction and interventions used. Eligibility for Special Education Services For a student to meet criteria for special education services, he or she must meet one of the following eligibilities set forth by the state of Texas: Autism Spectrum Disorder Autism means a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction generally evident before age three that adversely affects a child s educational performance. Other characteristics often associated with autism are engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences. Students who are diagnosed with a pervasive developmental delay (PDD) may meet criteria for special education services under the eligibility of autism. The term does not apply if a child s educational performance is adversely affected primarily because the child has an emotional disturbance. Deaf Blindness Deaf blindness means concomitant hearing and visual impairments, the combination of which causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for children with deafness or children with blindness. Emotionally Impaired Emotional disturbance describes a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child s educational performance:
o An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors o An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers o Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances o A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression o A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems The term includes schizophrenia. The term does not apply to children who are socially maladjusted, unless it is determined that they have an emotional disturbance. Cognitively Impaired Intellectual Disability means significantly sub average general intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period, which adversely affects a child's educational performance. Severe Multiple Impairment Multiple disabilities means concomitant impairments (such as mental retardationblindness, mental retardation orthopedic impairment, etc.), the combination of which causes such severe educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education based on one of the impairments. The term does not include deaf blindness. Early Childhood Development Delay The disability category noncategorical early childhood (NCEC) may be used for children ages three through five who are suspected of meeting criteria for autism, emotional disturbance, learning disability, or mental retardation. Physical Impairment: Orthopedic impairment means a severe orthopedic impairment that adversely affects a child s educational performance. The term includes impairments caused by congenital anomaly (e.g., clubfoot, absence of some member, etc.), impairments caused by
disease (e.g., poliomyelitis, bone tuberculosis, etc.), and impairments from other causes (e.g. cerebral palsy, amputations, and fractures or burns that cause contractures). Other Health Impairment Other health impairment means having limited strength, vitality or alertness, including heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment, that o Is due to chronic or acute health problems such as asthma, attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, and sickle cell anemia, and o Adversely affects a child s educational performance Specific Learning Disability Specific learning disability is defined as follows: o The term means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations, including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia o The term does not include learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, of mental retardation, of emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage. Speech and Language Impairment Speech or language impairment means a communication disorder, such as stuttering, impaired articulation, language impairment, or a voice impairment, that adversely affects a child s educational performance. Traumatic Brain Injury
Traumatic brain injury means an acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects a child s educational performance. The term applies to open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas, such as cognition; language; memory; attention; reasoning; abstract thinking; judgment; problem solving; sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities; psychosocial behavior; physical functions; information processing; and speech. The term does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or to brain injuries induced by birth trauma. Visual Impairment Visual impairment including blindness means impairment in vision that even with correction, adversely affects a child s educational performance. The term includes both partial sight and blindness. Special Program Descriptions Content Mastery Content mastery assistance may be offered in all academic and non academic areas. It is a service delivery model that supports students assigned to general education classes. In this program, students use the content mastery classroom for one on one assistance, for test adaptations, for specialized materials, for instruction in test taking and study skills, for reteaching concepts, and for support in other instructional modifications. General education teachers may send students to the content mastery classroom or students may request to go. If a student requires content mastery services to benefit from the general education curriculum, the ARD committee develops specific goals and objectives for that student and also determines a minimum amount of time to be spent in the content mastery classroom each week. Most often, students who receive services in the content mastery classroom have demonstrated some competencies in self help skills, organizational skills, and study skills. Additionally, they are typically able to successfully participate in the general education curriculum at grade level with instructional modifications. Content mastery provides these students with additional support on an as need basis. In Class Support
In class support is offered in designated academic areas. In class support consists of a special education paraprofessional working within the general education classroom to support special education students. In class support personnel may assist with accommodations and with the reteaching of concepts. Students serviced under in class support model typically are able to successfully participate in the general education curriculum at grade level without modification to the TEKS. Most often, students who receive services in this model have demonstrated some competencies in self help skills, organizational skills, and study skills. In class support provides the monitoring and implementation of accommodations that these students need to be successful, while allowing them to benefit from participation in the general education curriculum. Inclusion Classes Inclusion support is offered in designated academic areas. Inclusion support consists of a special education teacher and/or paraprofessional consulting with the general education teacher to assist in the implementation of individual educational plans and/or modifications within the general education classroom. Based on the needs of the student, this support may be indirect, through consultation with the general education teacher, and/or direct, with the teacher or paraprofessional working directly with the student in the classroom. LIFE Skills Classes LIFE Skills classes serve the needs of mildly to severely developmentally delayed students. Students who are serviced in LIFE Skills classes typically have delays in social skills, communication skills, academic skills, independent functioning skills, and/or self help skills. Student to staff ratios in these classes are generally small and relate directly to the needs of the individual students. Behavior Support Intervention Social Work/Emotionally Impaired In a Behavior Support Intervention (B.S.I.) class, students with disabilities may receive instruction on a full day or part day basis from special education teacher(s) and related service personnel. Integration from the self contained class into regular aspects of the school curriculum is made available and achieved in accordance with individual student strengths or needs and as specified in the IEP.
This class is initially a more restrictive learning environment for students with serious emotional or behavior disorders that manifest in: o violent and disruptive behavior o harming self or others o and the display of such behavior over a long period of time. The typical positive behavior interventions used in less restrictive environments have not been effective with students placed by ARD/IEP committees in the B.S.I. Class. Therefore, each student in the program has a specially designed Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) which has been constructed with input from psychological services staff. Resource Classes Resource is a pullout service delivery model offered in the student s area of disability. Students placed in resource classes are working on specific individualized educational goals and objectives developed by the admission, review, and dismissal. Most often, students in these classes are unable to successfully participate in general education curriculum at grade level due to severe learning difficulties. Resource classes allow these students to progress through the curriculum at their own level and pace. Remedial Strategies: Once a student has been identified as having difficulty with reading, writing, or spelling, the SSC will informally assess and offer special assistance to the student. Indications of student difficulty may include lack of progress in the classroom, teacher observation, parent observation, and/or results of district wide standardized testing. Interventions may include classroom accommodations, tutoring, additional help by the teacher, pullout reading remediation programs, specialized help with learning the letters/sounds of the language, summer school, bilingual programs, and many other ways that help the student to improve his or her reading, writing, and/or spelling achievement. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (now known as the ADA Amendments Act of 2008) prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in any programs receiving federal financial assistance. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to employers who have over 14 employees regardless of federal financial assistance. Under both acts, the definition of an individual with a disability is a person who: 1.) A.) Has a mental or physical impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities, such as seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, or working; in addition to eating, sleeping, standing, lifting, bending, reading, concentrating, thinking, or communicating; or B.) The determination of whether impairment substantially limits a major life activity shall be made without regard to the ameliorative effect of mitigating measures: C.) An impairment that is episodic or in remission is a disability if it would substantially limit a major life activity when active. 2.) Has a record of such impairment; 3.) or is regarded as having such an impairment. The District will evaluate, identify, and provide a free and appropriate education to all students who are individuals with disabilities under Section 504 or the ADA. Parents of these students are entitled to procedural safeguards, which includes individual notice and an impartial hearing. Each of the programs in the District will be readily accessible to individuals with disabilities when viewed in its entirety. The District will furnish auxiliary aids and services to students, employees, parents, and members of the public who have disabilities to the extent necessary for communications with other persons, unless it will result in an undue burden on, or a fundamental alteration in the program. The District has a grievance procedure for disability discrimination complaints. For a description of this procedure, or for any further relevant information, including the District s updated self evaluation, contact the Director of Special Programs.
Individual Education Plan (IEP): Through the IEP we promote student growth and development by collaborating with community agencies, families, and general education. (Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA)) Review: The Special Educational Needs policy will be reviewed annually at staff development. For further information, go to our Royal Oak District webpage. https://sites.google.com/site/royaloakinstructionoffice/