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The referral process begins when a parent/guardian asks the school district to perform an evaluation with respect to academic enrichment screening, learning, occupational/physical therapy, speech and language and behavior concerns. The student's academic and personal/social profile including all relative data is analyzed through a team-based approach and a rationale regarding the request is offered to the office of pupil services. Simultaneously, the student is then referred to the MTSS team. MTSS is the school's child study team that functions to evaluate the academic, behavioral and social/emotional concerns that parents and teachers may have regarding students. The MTSS team's goal is to remove barriers to learning, promote and support personal/social development through a systematic process involving prevention, intervention and follow-up services. The referral process also begins after a teacher has referred a student to MTSS and applicable interventions over time are not improving the initial concern.
Once the request and or MTSS process has demonstrated that an evaluation is in order, the school counselor generates a referral to the office of pupil services. Once the referral is approved, the office of pupil services will release parental consent for the evaluation to occur. Once the school district receives parental consent, the referral is assigned to the appropriate evaluator and is given 60 days to complete the evaluation. If a referral is denied, a NORA (Notice of Recommended Assignment) is mailed to the parent/guardians of the student.