Early childhood special Education

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Mod2TheReferralProcess13.ppt
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The Referral Process

  • We have been discussing the referral process throughout these readings, but not in a systematic way.
  • I think it is important for you to see how all these different pieces fit together in the total referral process.

The Referral Process-Initial Referral

  • To begin, let’s look at each part of the referral process.
  • Referrals to special ed can begin in several different ways:
  • 1. A teacher can refer a child within the public school system.
  • 2. A teacher in a private system (preschool or private school) can refer a student
  • 3. A parent or childcare provider can refer a child.
  • 4. A pediatrician or other doctor can refer a child.

The Referral Process-Initial Referral

  • What does this mean, “make a referral”?
  • It means that the person makes a formal request to explore if a child special education services.
  • This formal request usually includes:
  • Identifying the issues (why are they referring the child)
  • Any pretests, screenings, assessments already completed
  • Any interventions already conducted and the results.
  • Any evidence of the issues (tests, classwork, anecdotal records, etc.)

The Referral Process-Initial Referral

  • This process is a little different if the child is identified at birth. Obviously then, there are not interventions that have been done.
  • If the child is identified at birth or in the hospital, a social worker at the hospital usually works with the parents and pediatrician or other doctor to link the family to special education services.
  • In this case, this is part of Early Intervention/Early Identification services that we will talk about in more detail later.
  • We also say the Early ID/Early Intervention occurs if the child is not yet in school.

The Referral Process-Initial Referral

  • All referrals can be done with or without a parent’s permission.
  • Calling a special ed office affiliated with a school system with inquires can also be done without a parent’s permission .
  • But if the special ed team decides that testing should occur (the step after a referral is accepted), then parental permission is needed or the process for identification cannot move ahead.

The Referral Process-Initial Referral

  • For children who are not in the public school system, the process includes contacting the public school system special education office to initiate a referral.
  • If the private school/facility decides to make a referral, then it is submitted to the school system special education office.
  • Some private schools have their own special education team, but most work with the school system, as they have more resources and expertise.

The Referral Process-Special Ed Team

  • For those children in the public school system, the referral is usually written by the teacher and is submitted to the school’s special ed team.
  • The special ed team, whether from the school or a private facility, usually consists of the following people:
  • The person writing the referral
  • General educator (if applicable)
  • Guidance counselor (public or private school only)
  • Psychologist
  • Special ed teacher(s)
  • Reading teacher or specialist
  • Medical personnel (if appropriate)
  • Principal or director
  • Parent (if parent is involved in the process at this point)
  • If the child has particular needs (blindness, deafness, speech, etc.) there may be specialists to address those needs also.
  • For a young child, this team also includes the child care teacher or director, a case worker or social worker, and the therapists involved in working with the child.

The Referral Process-Special Ed Team

  • The team examines the referral and any other documentation submitted with it.
  • They will ask the person making the referral, as well as the primary contact(s) with the child, questions to clarify or expand on the issues raised in the referral.
  • The team has a discussion and then decides if the referral has merit.

The Referral Process-Next Steps

  • The team can make any of the following decisions:
  • Ask for more information. This may involve involving the parents if they have not been part of the process, making classroom observations, or get additional information from an expert involved with the child (for example a doctor).
  • Refer to child for testing. This step requires the parent’s consent to begin. If parents refuse consent, then the special ed process stops at this point.
  • Recommend strategies or interventions for the parents and/or teachers to implement. Usually this will occur for a few months and then the team will examine the results. It may be a 504 form (requires parent approval) or done informally (does not require parent approval)

The Referral Process-Next Steps

  • The second step, after the referral is assessment.
  • All of the items we will discuss in a bit in assessment would be conducted in this step.
  • After the assessments are completed, then the results are presented to the special ed team (same people that initially heard the referral).
  • The team then makes a recommendation to either refer the child for special ed or not.
  • We will talk more about the special ed team and the roles each member plays in another module.
  • The rest of the special ed process follows the flow chart attached in this reading.

The Referral Process-Next Steps

  • If the team doesn’t feel that the child meets the qualifications for a diagnosis, then the team can make the recommendation for a 504 plan, or go back to some of the things listed in the previous slides (strategies or accommodations for the general ed teacher to make and monitor, more testing, etc.)

The Referral Process-Due Process

  • Remember that at each step, the parents must agree with what the team is proposing.
  • If they do not, then the whole process stops, and no services which could only be done through an IFSP/IEP can be provided for the child.
  • As the chart shows, if the parents and team are in disagreement, they can access the due process proceedings to formally try to reach an agreement or force one side to agree with the other.

The Referral Process-Due Process

  • In general, school systems do not like to use due process because it is expensive (lawyers) and time consuming (most steps have 10, 30, 45, or 60 day requirements prior to moving on to the next step).
  • Due process usually benefits the parents, especially if they hire a parent or child advocate to assist them in due process.
  • Advocates are very expensive, but parents may choose to use them, especially if they are trying to force the school system to place their child in a more specialized (restrictive) LRE setting, outside of the school system options.

The Referral Process-Due Process

  • As a general educator, you will not usually be involved in the due process proceedings, although sometimes you may be required to discuss or present evidence on progress made by the child.
  • There is lots of detailed information on due process, but we will not discuss it in this class. You can see the entire due process proceedings in detail by going to either the MSDE.gov website or your local school system website and searching for “special education due process.”

The Referral Process-In Conclusion

  • Look at the chart attached to this reading for some additional information.
  • This presentation concludes our examination of the basis processes and procedures for the initial evaluation process.

Developed and written by Teresa L. Bridger, Ph.D.