Pre-referral Interventions

Prior to requesting or referring a student for a special education evaluation, it is first important to consider whether there are interventions that can be put into place that would support the student and lead toward academic success. Students can display academic and behavioral concerns for a variety of reasons. In an effort to support students, schools may implement pre-referral interventions prior to recommending testing for special education services.

The pre-referral process is a preventative measure that can help eliminate inappropriate referrals to special education. Pre-referral supports general education teachers when they have students who exhibit academic or behavioral difficulties. The pre-referral process is a:

• Consultative approach – Pre-referral team members make suggestions based on their area of expertise about educational procedures and practices that teachers can implement within the general education classroom.
• Collaborative approach – Members of the pre-referral team (e.g., parents, other teachers) assist classroom teachers with instructional support.
• Linear approach – pre-referral team members implement the stages of the process sequentially (e.g., gathering information, implementing the intervention, evaluating intervention).

Pre-referral uses a problem-solving team to help teachers find effective teaching strategies for use with students who exhibit academic or behavioral difficulties. Of course, the mere fact that a student displays such behavior does not necessarily mean that the student requires special education services. In some cases, supports for students can be put in place to improve their performance and subsequently prevent inappropriate referrals to special education. During those cases in which a referral is warranted, the pre-referral team contributes data to support later assessment and identification efforts. Besides helping to avoid inappropriate referrals, the pre-referral process boasts a number of benefits, among them being that it:

• Provides a forum for teachers and other team members—including parents—to discuss how to meet students’ needs.
• Empowers general education teachers with a variety of strategies to better serve diverse learners.
• Prevents the overrepresentation of students from a particular group (e.g., English language learners, students at risk due to poor teaching) in special education.
• Improves communication between parents and the school by involving families in the process (e.g., parents offer information, participate in intervention development, become members of the team).