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Stage 1: Initial Concern
The first stage in the pre-referral process,…
Stage 1: Initial Concern
The first stage in the pre-referral process, initial concern, begins when someone—a teacher, parent, or member of the school staff—starts to have concerns about a student’s academic or behavioral performance. This concern may be expressed either informally or formally; however, once the pre-referral process has been initiated in a given school, it should be managed consistently, regardless of the manner in which the original concern was communicated. 
Causes for Concern Include:
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Behavior problems (e.g., acting out in class)
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Social-emotional problems (e.g., lack of confidence, appears withdrawn)
Major life changes (e.g., parent’s divorce, death of a loved one)
Significant illness or accident (e.g., lengthy hospitalization)
Stage 2: Information Gathering
Information gathering can be accomplished in a number of ways and carried out by a variety of different personnel. For example, in some cases, the referring teacher might collect the information. In others, the school counselor or a member of the pre-referral team might assist in gathering information to present to the rest of the group. Data is important for all as evidenced by [this school in New Orleans:](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhMkqjbiSaA)Regardless of who collects it, it is important to collect information about:
Instructional methods, strategies, and materials that have been previously tried or used
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Stage 3: Information Sharing and Team Discussion
In this stage, the team actually meets to begin its review of the information collected to date and to start discussing ideas and interventions—including type and intensity—that may help the student. Teams are composed of a diverse set of individuals (e.g., general education teacher, school counselor, reading specialist) who have experience using and designing instructional techniques to address the needs of students.This data sharing should include
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Student’s strengths, talents, and interests
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Additional Concerns include:
Insufficient instruction and practice. A mismatch between the student’s skill level and the classroom curriculum. Differences in background knowledge and experiences between the student and the dominant classroom culture. Differences in academic or behavior expectations between home and school. Inadequate classroom management techniques
Stage 4: Discussion of Possible Strategies
This stage begins the brainstorming of strategies that the team believes are most likely to meet the needs of the student. One or more strategies may be selected for each area of concern. Whatever intervention they end up selecting, the team must specify its duration. In many cases pre-referral interventions are implemented for a period of four to six weeks. However, duration might be influenced by the type, intensity, or frequency of the identified concern.
Accommodations that could be recommended are below. What else do you think could be recommended?
Classroom environment (e.g.,
changing seating positions, making
the classroom more accessible)
Classroom management system (e.g., increasing positive reinforcement, providing individual student contracts)
Instructional procedures (e.g., providing additional instruction, presenting content in a different format, grouping students)
Task demands (e.g., assigning only
the odd numbered math problems,
instead of all of them)
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Stage 5: Implementation and Monitoring of Strategies
Implementation and monitoring are often the responsibility of a classroom teacher, though others on the team may serve as support. Data is collected during this stage and will be used to help the team determine the effectiveness of the intervention. For monitoring student behavior, the teacher can use checklists or a behavior recording sheet.
The teacher can also use curricular based measurement systems:
Resources for data collection for curricular based measurement systems:
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Stage 6: Evaluation and Decision Making
The pre-referral team reconvenes to review the collected data and to determine whether the student has made progress. If yes, the team decides whether the teacher needs to continue the intervention. If no, the team determines whether the strategy should be continued or modified, whether a new strategy should be tried, or whether the student should be referred for special education.
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