Step 1:  Referral

    Your child can be referred in three different ways. 

• You can refer your child .

• School personnel can refer your child. 

• Your child's need can be discovered during a district wide screening referred to as child find.  The sole purpose of child find is to discover children whose needs might otherwise be overlooked in the general classroom and by parents.

Step 2:  GEIT (General Education Intervention Team)

• After a referral the GEIT Coordinator for your child's school will invite you, your child's general education teacher, and possibly a special education teacher or psychologist to a meeting.        

• The GEIT team, of which you as a parent are a part, discusses your child's current performance and makes suggestions as to possible accommodations that could be tried before your child is evaluated for special education.        

• The GEIT team then agrees to reconvene after enough time has passed for the agreed upon accommodations to be evaluated.        

• The GEIT then meets a second time to determine if the accommodations were successful. If they were successful then there is no need for your child to receive services. 

• If they were not successful, the team may either recommend trying different accommodations or recommend evaluation for eligibility to receive special education services.    

• The primary purpose of GEIT is to provide a group problem solving process that supports and helps students teachers and parents.

  GEIT for Gifted

  All students suspected of needing gifted education services are referred through the GEIT process in each school building.  Prior to any individual gifted screening, students must be referred to the GEIT.  The only exception is during the systematic screening of third grade.  The GEIT process is followed when students are identified in third grade screening needing a full evaluation (see information on Grade Level Screening). 

   During the GEIT process, the team must collect data about the student to help determine meeting eligibility standards and showing that the student possesses a need for services.  In order to help establish a need for services, the general education teacher(s) completes the General Education Documentation of Classroom Interventions in addition to any other pertinent GEIT documents. 

  The team decides one of the following:  

  1. The teacher may be provided recommendations for interventions within the classroom with the GEIT team monitoring the student progress.

  2. It may be determined that the student needs an individual screening to determine if a full evaluation is warranted.  At this stage, parental consent is needed to collect additional data.  Several sources of data may be considered:  gifted screening assessments, curriculum based assessments, informal academic inventories.

  3. No further steps need be taken.

Step 3:  Evaluation

    Appropriate school personnel will proceed with your  written consent to evaluate the current functioning level of your child.   

• School psychologist will perform evaluations concerning intellectual, emotional, or social functioning.        
• Occupational therapists evaluate fine motor skills        
• Speech pathologist evaluate disabilities related to speech impairment.        
• English Language Learner (ELL) teachers evaluate current levels of English language acquisition.

Step 3: Eligibility and  Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meeting

• This meeting consists of parents, special education personnel, interpreter of evaluation results, classroom teacher and LEA.        

• This group determines the least restrictive environment that will meet the student's needs. 

• They determine whether or not special education is a necessary intervention.        

• To be eligible the student must meet the requirements for one or more of the following disabilities:

Developmental Delay
Mental Retardation
Functional Delay
Emotional Disturbance
Learning Disability
Intellectual Giftedness
Visual Impairment
Hearing Impairment
Health Impairment
Physical Impairment
Speech/Language Impairment
Autism
Deaf/Blind
Multiple Disabilities
Traumatic Brain Injury

Step 4 Individualized Education Plan

• This is a program designed to help your child succeed in the school setting with his/her disability. 

• As a parent it is your right and responsibility to be part of writing this program.

• The plan itself contains information relating to your child's current level of functioning,  services to be rendered, goals and objectives to be accomplished during the year that the IEP is effective.

Step 5:  The Services

    Special education services can be offered in a variety of ways. The State Department of Education has defined the following services:

• Supplementary Services: Services provided to an eligible child who is enrolled in a regular program, and/or special education program and receives additional corrective and supportive services recommended by the IEP-Team as necessary to meet the special education needs. These services include consultation, direct instruction (less than one hour a week) and related services

• Resource Program: Services provided by a special education teacher to an eligible child enrolled in a regular program. The child receives as much regular classroom instruction as appropriate and additional services are provided by a special education resource teacher in. a program designed to meet a child's identified needs. The instruction. may be provided on an individual or small group basis and is carefully coordinated with regular class activities.

• Ancillary Person: An ancillary person provides specific services in order for a child to be maintained in a regular program. An example is an interpreter for a child who is deaf.

• Full-Time Special Program: A special class or comprehensive development program is provided to meet the educational needs of the severely/profoundly involved students who require intensive planning and programming.

• Special Residential Program: A program provided for a child whose disabilities are so profound or complex that continuous intervention is required to meet his/her educational needs, and no special education services offered in a comprehensive development class or self-contained program can adequately or appropriately meet these needs.

• Home and Hospital Instruction: Instruction which may be provided to continue the educational advancement of eligible students who are not able to attend school.

Step 6:  Monitoring Your Child's Progress

    You should receive reports on a regular basis (quarterly) of your child's progress toward the goal. 

Step 7:  IEP meeting and reevaluation

• Every year you will be expected to be part of a team that determines your child's needs for the next year.

• Once your child has received special education services, he/she will be evaluated every three years to determine the least restrictive environment or discontinuation of service. 

Special Education Services

Student Support Services