Special Education Referral Process

In general the teachers I interviewed stated that they typically make recommendations for special education only in somewhat extreme circumstances.  The interview teachers stated that when they made recommendations it was based on witnessing common symptoms of various disabilities that they recognized from their students with special needs courses.  They expressed that if they were concerned about the a student in their class their first reaction would be to try alternative methods to teach the student.  One expressed that if this did not work she would then turn to the student’s other teachers to inquire as to whether they see the same issues with that student and what might be their strategies for dealing with it. However, when concerned for a student both suggested asking the student in private and calling the child’s parents to talk with them about behavioral traits without suggesting that the child has a disability.. Because special education encompasses a plethora of different issues from gifted students to the lowest functioning students with severe intellectual disabilities it is not possible for anyone except a medically trained professional to “diagnose” a disability.

At James Hillhouse High School teachers and other staff members can refer a student for special education services by using a special form for this purpose.  It requires the referrer to sign off that they have already checked the system to ensure that the student isn’t already receiving special education services.  If the student is already receives special education services and has an IEP the referrer should get in contact with that student’s case manager and discuss any issues in the classroom and try to determine any possible interventions. Similarly if the student has a 504 plan, the referrer should discuss any issues with the student’s counselor first.

If the student does not receive any services, the referral then goes to the child’s counselor who is the one to contact the student’s other teachers to see if they notice the same behaviors or issues that are detailed on the form by the referrers.  At this point, the counselor can recommend that the student be evaluated which is done onsite by the in-house Clifford Beers Clinic with help from the school social worker. In order to complete this evaluation the school must acquire parental permission.  At Hillhouse one of the three academy principals is designated as being in charge of Special Education and she is responsible for overseeing the evaluation from Clifford Beers and ultimately deciding if the child will be given special education services based off of the recommendation of counseling staff and evaluators from Clifford Beers. At this point if a child is to be receiving special education services they will be assigned a case manager who with the help of the school’s PPT (Planning and Placement Team) chairperson will organize a PPT meeting.   

A PPT meeting must include the following parties the child’s case manager or counselor, the PPT chair (serving as an administrator), a teacher who can report on the student’s behavior and achievement, and a parent or guardian of the child (and/or the child themselves if they are 18+).  This team collaboratively creates the goals and accommodations that appear on an IEP and try to identify areas that need to be worked on or adjustments that need to be made to ensure the student is in the least restrictive environment.