What is a Student Success Team (SST)?

Sometimes a child does not make sufficient progress in the general school program, even with

modifications and remedial instruction. Under current federal and state law, anyone can refer a child when

he or she suspects a child has special needs. The child can be referred to the school's Student Success

Team (SST). The SST, which typically includes the parent/guardian, develops a plan of modifications

and/or interventions to be implemented in the general education classroom over a period of time. If these

modifications/ interventions are not successful, the SST may ultimately refer a child for consideration of

special education eligibility.

The SST process is not meant to delay a necessary special education assessment. Rather, the SST

meeting provides a forum for discussing identified concerns. Once concerns are identified, it is a time for

problem-solving. Typically, an intervention is designed, implemented, and monitored for 4 to 8 weeks. The

purpose of this process is to identify the level of support and types of educational conditions that improve

a student's progress toward the district standards.

One outcome of the SST process may be a special education assessment. However, many students are

successful after the SST process and do not require special education services. Parent participation in

the SST is particularly valuable. Parents bring important information to the SST and also receive

important information from school personnel. Parent participation helps ensure that a full discussion of a

child's educationalperformance takes place.

How does the SST meeting process work? Where do we begin?

Consultation: First, the parent/guardian and the teacher discuss the student, identifying strengths

and weakness and possible interventions. The school psychologist, counselor and/or

administrator are welcome to participate in this consultation.

Referral: If the interventions that have been developed and implemented are unsuccessful, the

parent/guardian, or the teacher makes a referral to the SST. If a parent requests a SST meeting or

an evaluation for special education services, the meeting will be held within two weeks of receipt

of the written referral.

Initial SST Meeting: School staff schedules and invites the parent/guardian to a SST meeting. The

team members may include the parent, psychologist, teacher(s), counselor, and school principal.

The SST commonly adheres to the following six steps and approximate time requirements. It's

important to note, however, that SSTs may vary from school to school and from case to case:

Step 1: Overview -- The team reviews information about students' strengths and areas of need,

preferences, interests, and general health and well being. All relevant information is examined and

discussed, including any outside evaluations the parent/guardian may have gathered. Information

is collected through team discussions, review of records, work samples, observations, and

interviews. (10 minutes)

Step 2: Problem Identification -- The team lists instructional and/or behavioral concerns,

prioritizes them, and defines the concerns in terms of one or two measurable behavioral goals.

The goals may be based on district content standards, peer performance, or developmental

standards. (15 minutes)

Step 3: Define Intervention -- The team brainstorms possible interventions to meet the behavioral

goal(s) identified in Step 2. Interventions are then selected based on their feasibility and likelihood

of success. Creative uses of both community and district resources (e.g. the reading specialist,

after school tutoring, counseling, etc.) are considered in determining the feasibility of each

intervention. Next, the duration and intensity of the intervention are established. The individuals

accountable for providing the interventions are identified. In addition, a liaison (i.e., someone to

assist the interventionist(s) in fine-tuning the intervention) should be selected. (10 minutes)

Step 4: Identification of Monitoring System -- The team establishes a continuous monitoring

technique. Information on the student's progress toward the identified goal(s) will be collected

and recorded frequently. Adjustments to the interventions are made based on this information.

Progress may be charted. The responsibility of monitoring student progress is assigned to one or

more team members. (5 minutes)

Step 5: Schedule a Follow-up Meeting --A date is selected for reconvening the SST team. Most

interventions take from 4 to 8 weeks to see an effect.

Step 6: Hold the Follow-up Meeting-- The follow-up meeting will be held to determine the success

of the intervention. The team will decide whether to:

1. discontinue the intervention because the goals have been achieved; 2. modify the interventions; 3. develop an additional intervention or consider other options.

In making such decisions, the team will consider:

1. the discrepancy between actual and targeted behaviors before and after the intervention; 2. progress toward district content standards and performance indicators; 3. the intensity, duration, and effectiveness (e.g. whether it was implemented as planned) of the

intervention; 4. and the amount of resources required to implement the intervention.

Assessment for special education is probably not warranted in cases where the intervention results and

other information reviewed by the SST suggest that the student does not have a disability of such severity

that the identified needs cannot be met in general education, with or without accommodations. If parents/

guardians disagree with the SST decision that special education assessment is not necessary, the team

will provide them the basis for its decision in writing. The notice may be completed at the conclusion of

the initial SST or follow-up meeting and given to parents/ guardians, or mailed to them shortly after the

meeting. The notice letter must include:

1. A copy of the Special Education Parents Rights and Procedural Safeguards; 2. A description and explanation of the district's position as well as a description of any options the

district considered and the reasons why those options were not selected; 3. A description of each evaluation procedure, test, record, or report the district used as a basis for

its decision; and 4. A description of any other factors that are relevant to the district's decision.

How is eligibility for Special Education determined?

The Assessment Plan

The primary assessment provider (e.g. school psychologist, speech therapist, occupational therapist, etc.)

will complete an assessment plan. The parent/guardian must sign an assessment plan before the school

can begin an individual assessment of a student. Parents must be informed about the assessments'

purpose, the methods or techniques which will be used, and the people (by title) who will be conducting

the assessment. The purpose of the assessment is to answer one or more questions identified on the

assessment plan. The assessment questions are designed to identify the type of services and level of

support that will assist the student in attaining the district standards. If a parent does not approve an

assessment plan when the district believes an assessment is needed, the district or parent may request

an Alternative Dispute Resolution panel or proceed to due process.

The Assessment Process

The assessment of a student is conducted to determine whether or not the student has special needs that

qualify him or her for special education services and to assist in instructional planning. Testing should

result in identification of the student's present skill levels and interventions that are likely to be successful.

The final step in the process is a team meeting where the separate components of the assessment are

brought together.

The assessment involves collecting important information from parents/guardians and from qualified

district personnel. These people may include some or all of those listed in the table on the next page.

1. Formal/informal test(s) administered in a one-on-one setting. 2. Review of school records and district assessments. 3. Parent interview 4. Teacher interview 5. Observation of the student in the classroom and possibly other setting, such as the playground 6. Health and developmental history

In addition, the assessment will include reviewing any outside evaluations that have been obtained and

made available to the school district.

Data gathered during the assessment process will be summarized in written assessment reports. IEP

members may want to consider the following questions as they review the assessment reports:

1. Based on what we know about the nature of the student's needs, is the assessment thorough? 2. Does the assessment provide a clear picture of how the student performs in critical skill or

developmental areas? Does the assessment describe the student's areas of strength as well as his or her weaknesses?

3. Do the assessment results help to develop instructional or behavioral goals? 4. Do the assessment results help to identify interventions that are likely to help the student reach

these goals? 5. Did the assessment process answer the questions on the Assessment Plan?

Assessment Team Members and Their Contributions

People Who May Be Involved Expected Contributions

Parents · Review and approve the Assessment Plan.

· Provide health and developmental history.

· Describe the child's responses to tasks and social interactions in the non-schools settings of home, neighborhood and community.

· Release existing assessment reports if available, including physician's reports.

General classroom teachers · Inform the team about the student's academic achievement, physical/motor performance, and social behavior in the classroom.

Nurse · Reviews the student's medical background and physical development.

· Screens hearing and vision.Speech Language Specialist · Provides relevant information speech and language

development.School Psychologist · Examines the student's social, emotional, academic,

and intellectual development.Adapted Physical Education

Specialist and/or Occupational

Physical Therapist

· Examines the student's physical and sensory/ motor Development.

What is an Individualized Educational Program (IEP)?

The Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is a legal document that must be written for each child who is

eligible for special education services. The IEP helps ensure that special education services are provided

as planned, and that their appropriateness is evaluated regularly.

The IEP specifies services to be provided by the school di strict. It describes anticipated long-term goals

and short-term objectives for a student, and serves as a "blueprint" for instruction in the school

environment. It is not, however, a daily lesson plan.

The IEP must be reviewed and updated annually. However, parents and/or teacher(s) can request a

review more frequently. Note: there is no such thing as an emergency IEP.

Who should attend an IEP team meeting?

Current law stipulates that, at a minimum, the following persons must attend an IEP team:

the parent(s) or guardian(s);

a teacher knowledgeable about the student (a student's general education teacher participates to the extent appropriate);

an administrator, or designee; the student, when appropriate, (usually middle and high school students attend); and special education teacher.

Who else may be members of an IEP team?

advocates from organizations or agencies, such as a Regional Center counselor; non-school therapists or specialists who work with a child; and a friend or relative who will provide moral support and take notes for the family

How does a "team approach" to an IEP team meeting work?

The team approach to developing an IEP involves communication and cooperation among parents,

teacher(s), and other specialists with different kinds of skills who may work for the school district or

outside agencies. Together, the team prepares an IEP that best suits the student's present educational

needs. The team develops the IEP at a meeting that is held at a time and place that is convenient for

parents and the school personnel.

What must the IEP document contain?

In addition to eligibility information, the IEP document always includes the following components:

1. A statement of the student's present levels of educational performance Statements about what the student can and cannot do are based on assessment information. These may include information about academic, social, language, motor, self-help, and pre-vocational skills. Statements should describe the student's classroom performance and how the disability affects his or her participation and progress in the general curriculum. They should not list only test scores.

2. A statement of the student's annual goals and short-term instructional objectives Based on the student's identified learning needs, the IEP specifies skills the student will work on. The IEP must specify annual goals (i.e., what the student can reasonably be expected to accomplish within one year). Short-term objectives are measurable, intermediate steps between where the student is now (i.e., present levels of performance) and the annual goals. The objectives are developed based on a logical breakdown of the skills necessary to achieve the goal. The objectives serve as a guide for planning and implementing instructional activities in the classroom and as milestones for measuring progress. The IEP identifies a few learning goals in each area, however, these goals are not the only skills the student will learn during the year. The student will receive instruction in many other skills beyond those identified by his/her IEP. Progress toward attaining the annual goals will be reported to parents at least three times a year. For children who are limited English proficient (LEP), the goals and objectives must address English language development.

3. A statement of specific education and related services to be provided to the student.Some services may include when appropriate:

o assistive technology, o extended school year services,

o shortened day services, o adaptive physical education, o transition services, o community experience, o employment and post-school living, and o acquisition of daily living skills and a functional vocational evaluation, if appropriate.

4. A description of the extent to which the child will participate in the general education program or natural preschool environment and a description of the program to be provided.

5. Participation in State or District-wide Assessments , with accommodations where necessary.

6. Projected dates for initiation of services and the anticipated duration of services. 7. Annual and Triennial Date

The IEP will be reviewed at least once per year. The annual review date indicates the date that the IEP must be reviewed. A triennial review, which closely examines the appropriateness of the student's program, is conducted every three years. This three-year review may entail an informal consultation between the parent(s), the teacher and the school psychologist or a more formal assessment. The IEP should include objective criteria, evaluation procedures, and schedule for determining whether short-term and long-term educational objectives are being achieved.

8. Signatures and Parent/Guardian ApprovalPersons attending an IEP team meeting are asked to sign the IEP to indicate their participation; however, only the parent/ guardian is asked to approve the IEP. This is because an IEP cannot be implemented without parent approval.