School Years:
New Parents

Navigating this process can be intimidating! If your child has recently been identified as a child with a disability and/or you have recently begun to have concerns your child may need special education and you have questions about how you might start that process, you are in the right place!

"NFHF has been a huge help to my family over the past few months. I'm certain without their Education Liaison's help,
my grandchild would not be in school today."

COMMONLY USED TERMS

  • RTI - Response to Intervention
  • SBLC/SAT - School Building Level Committee/Student Assistance Team
  • IEP - Individual Education Plan
  • IAP - Individual Accommodation Plan, commonly known as a "504 Plan"

GETTING STARTED

If a parent is concerned their child may need special education, related services or both, they should begin by discussing those concerns with the child's teacher. The teacher may then refer the child to the SBLC/SAT for screening. The SBLC/SAT is composed of the parent, the child's teacher and other staff members. The committee or team will meet to discuss parent and teacher concerns and develop an intervention plan. This is called Response to Intervention (RTI). The purpose of RTI is to help students who are struggling with a skill or lesson. The interventions will be implemented for an agreed upon time and data will be taken. At the end of the data collection period, the committee/team will meet again to discuss the data. At this point, the team has three options. 

  • The child does not require special education or related services.
  • The team/committee does not have enough information and further data collection is necessary.
  • The child may require special education or related services and the team refers for an evaluation.
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