# data[].attributes.headline
Step 1: Identifying Struggling ELL student 

# data[].attributes.subject
Step 1: Identifying Struggling ELL student 

# data[].attributes.body
Teachers in the classroom notice an ELL student who is having difficulty learning or behaving appropriately compared to peers.

# data[].attributes.body
Observe Behavior: Pay close attention to language proficiency during interactions and activities.

Document Observations: Record specific instances of language difficulties.

# data[].attributes.body
Language Proficiency Test: Administer age-appropriate language assessments (e.g., WIDA MODEL/ Teaching Strategy Gold).

Review Results: Assess language development compared to peers at same age range.

Note: Communication with the family is crucial, so you should share progress with them, listen to concerns, and learn more about the child’s history to help inform intervention efforts.

# data[].attributes.headline
Step 4: Individualized Education for ELL

# data[].attributes.subject
Step 4: Individualized Education for ELL

# data[].attributes.body
Modify Instruction: Adapt teaching strategies to support language acquisition (e.g., visuals, gestures, rhythms and additional language support).

Provide Language Support: Offer bilingual resources, peer support, small group activities, or one-on-one interaction.

To address the individual challenges, you should employ a variety of classroom techniques and supports, which may include adapting lesson plans, modifying assignments, or working one-on-one with the student; some educators also may apply more systematic strategies, such as response to intervention (RtI), multi-tiered systems of supports (MTSS), or positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
At a glance

RTI aims to identify kids who are struggling in school.

It uses targeted teaching to help them catch up.

An important part of RTI is measuring progress and providing more support to kids who need it.

If you look inside any general education classroom, chances are good that you'd see different students struggling for different reasons. It can be hard for a teacher to tell right away which students are struggling or why.

Response to intervention (RTI) aims to identify struggling students early on and give them the support they need to thrive in school. The word intervention is key to understanding what RTI is all about. The goal is for the school to intervene, or step in, and start helping before a student falls really far behind.

Teachers can provide targeted teaching - called interventions - to help struggling students catch up. A big part of the RTI process involves closely monitoring student progress. That way the school can see which students need more academic support.

RTI isn't a specific program or type of teaching. It's a proactive approach: RTI measures students' skills and uses this data to decide which interventions to use.

About the author

About the author

Amanda Morin is the author of "The Everything Parent's Guide to Special Education" and the former director of thought leadership at Understood. As an expert and writer, she helped build Understood from its earliest days.

Reviewed by

Reviewed by

Elaine M. Niefeld, MA, MBA is a consultant and former associate director of the RTI Action Network.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Response to intervention (RTI) is a multi-tier approach that aims to identify struggling students early and help them catch up. Learn what RTI is and how it works.

# data[].attributes.headline
Step 5: Ongoing assessment/monitoring (8-10 weeks)

# data[].attributes.subject
Step 5: Ongoing assessment/monitoring (8-10 weeks)

# data[].attributes.body
Track the ELL student’s progress with these interventions over a period of 8-10 weeks. Evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions based on the collected data.

--- Formal and unformal Assessments: Regularly assess language growth and comprehension.

--- Parent/Guardian Communication: Update families on language development strategies.

# data[].attributes.headline
Step 6: Is this ELL student making progressing?

# data[].attributes.subject
Step 6: Is this ELL student making progressing?

# data[].attributes.body
Decide whether the ELL student is progressing with current interventions.

Yes: Continue with the current interventions.

No: Proceed to further screening.

# data[].attributes.headline
Step 7: Identifying Learning Disabilities

# data[].attributes.subject
Step 7: Identifying Learning Disabilities

# data[].attributes.body
Consult Specialists: Collaborate with special education professionals to evaluate potential disabilities.

Screen for Language Needs vs. Learning Disability:

Language Needs Assessment: Conduct assessments to determine if the student has language needs that may be affecting learning.

Learning Disability Assessment: Conduct assessments to identify any learning disabilities.

National Center for Education Statistics. (2024). Students With Disabilities. Condition of Education. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved [date], from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cgg.

# data[].attributes.body
Conduct a thorough evaluation to determine the student's eligibility for special education services.

Eligibility Determination: Follow guidelines (IDEA) for special education eligibility if concerns persist.

Individualized Education Plan (IEP): Develop an IEP with input from parents/guardians and specialists.

Note: Parental rights under IDEA include the right to receive prior written notice from the school each time that the school proposes to take (or refuses to take) certain actions with respect to your child.

https://www.parentcenterhub.org/notice-prior/#in

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
If your child is between the ages of three- to five-years-old, and you suspect he needs special education services, your first step will be to contact your school district and request an evaluation. When you request that your child be evaluated for special education this is called a referral.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires local public school districts to "identify, locate, and evaluate every child who may have a disability requiring special education services." This is called "Child Find." When calling the district you should ask for the person responsible for "Child Find" and tell them you are interested in a special education evaluation for your child. The Child Find coordinator will answer your questions and tell you which school to make your referral to.

The school will review the information you give them about your child and respond in one of three ways:

● Decline to do an evaluation

● Recommend that your child be screened to see if they should do a full evaluation

● Proceed to a Full and Individual Initial Evaluation (FIIE)

Visit Texas Project FIRST for more information about the referral process.

Before the evaluation can take place, the school district must have your written consent to proceed. Before signing this consent, the district evaluator should review the Procedural Safeguards with you and give you a copy of the ARD Guide. Be sure to sign and return all paperwork in a timely manner to keep the process moving.

The role of the evaluator is to determine if a disability is present and to write a report explaining what your child can do and what your child needs help doing. This is the first step in the process of determining if your child needs special education services.

Both you and your child should be at the evaluation appointment unless you are told otherwise. There may be one or more evaluators at the appointment. The evaluator(s) will perform a variety of tasks with your child to help them determine if your child has a disability.

If your child's evaluation reveals a disability, the next step is to have a meeting with school district representatives. The purpose of this meeting is to determine if the disability causes your child to need special services to be successful in school. In other words, if he is eligible for special education services. If the answer is "yes," you will go on to the ARD Committee meeting to develop your child's IEP (see next section). If the answer is "no," you have other options. See Special Education Eligibility Rules from Texas Project FIRST for more about those options.

"ARD" and "IEP" are two acronyms you will see a lot. ARD stands for Admissions, Review and Dismissal. IEP stands for Individualized Education Program.

Basically, the ARD committee, which includes you, the parent, as well as school district personnel, is created to write the IEP for your child. The IEP document is a blueprint for the special education services your child will receive. The IEP is revisited and adjusted regularly to make sure it continues to meet your child's needs for as long as he receives special education services. You are the most important member of your child's ARD committee and get to help create the IEP to address your child's educational needs.

You and your child's ARD committee will look at your child's needs and determine which teachers, therapists and other special education professionals will work best with your child. Once the IEP is created, it is an official document that guarantees your child will receive the services and supports in the plan, if you go ahead and enroll him in public school.

The only way these services can be changed is if the team meets and agrees on changes. The team must meet every year to review the IEP, discuss how your child is doing on the IEP goals and make changes that will help your child.

For more go to Texas Project FIRST: Special Education Process, Step by Step.

If your child received ECI services, the supports and services in the IEP must begin on your child's third birthday or a mutually agreed upon date. If your child did not receive ECI services, the IEP will show the date services will begin.

Also see DARS Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) Services.

In some cases the evaluation may show that there is a disability, but the ARD committee does not feel that the disability causes your child to need specialized services or supports in school. Since you are a member of this committee, you have a say in this and certain rights of recourse. Again, see Special Education Eligibility Rules from Texas Project FIRST for more. Also see Why a 504 Plan May Be Right for Your Child

If your child qualifies and you choose not to enroll him in your local public school, you will not receive the services specified in your child's IEP paperwork, but there are other options to consider, such as home schooling your child, or enrolling him in a private preschool or a charter school.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Special Education: The Referral and Evaluation Process

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
If your child is between the ages of three- to five-years-old, and you suspect he needs special education services, your first step will be to contact your school district and request an evaluation. When you request that your child be evaluated for special education this is called a referral.

# data[].attributes.body
Create an IEP tailored to the ELL student's specific needs.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
I had the best time with teachers the last few days, curriculum-mapping away. It's what curriculum directors live for: discussions of vertical and horizontal alignment. However, about halfway through the second day, I could tell that I had "lost" two teachers, more specifically, two intervention specialists. Attempting to bring them into the conversation, we had a bit of a heart-to-heart, and this phrase came out: "My kids can't do these standards."

My heart broke with this sentence. Of course, part of it is that students with special education needs are still not always seen as part of the all in "all" of our kids, but at the same time, it was clear that these teachers needed some strategies to help work with their students. Although I knew that in the short time I had to work with these educators, I would not be able to solve all, I did know that they were capable and that they could use APPS to help students acquire our college- and career-ready standards.

As we worked together, I shared with one of the teachers my version of the acronym APPS for technology integration within the classroom: how will an application help students Acquire meaningful content standards; how will an application help students Progress through meaningful feedback; how will an application measure Proficiency of student learning, and how will an application S upport the student in learning content. You can find more examples of this in my other blog posts on . an example.

The following are three APPS that I shared with the teacher I was working with, and that I believe you too can use to help redefine your classroom and facilitate higher-order learning activities that encourage self-directed learning and ongoing assessment for our students with special needs as well as their classmates.

One of the concerns with some special needs students is that they can't read the complex text that is required of them at grade level. Research has consistently proven that we need to make sure kids get exposure and regular practice with grade-level text. Simply giving students texts that are not at their Lexile level is problematic, so what can teachers do to ensure access to complex texts for all readers?? Try one of these free Google tools! Take an on-grade-level text, maybe from . Download the free TextTeaser Google Chrome extension (it's available for other browsers as well-just do a quick web search). TextTeaser summarizes the content from a webpage as a list of sentences or in paragraph form. What's really great is that you adjust the output using a slider to give different detail levels of the passage or article. An intervention specialist can work in a small group or one-on-one, helping the students make sense of the larger passage. The summary can be used to preview the text or as a refresher to allow students to access the content, main ideas, and vocabulary so that they can participate in those rich, on-grade-level conversations An alternative to TextTeaser is , a tool that performs basically the same task.

is the second of the APPS I'd recommend. Often, students with special needs who are struggling in math need some type of visual to represent mathematical relationships. When this isn't provided, these students will shut down and become frustrated. To be frank, many of us need those visuals. In addition to providing just such a visual, Desmos harnesses the social nature of online interactions into meaningful math inquiry. For example, by using the Function Carnival tool , students are given the freedom to experiment with functions and are given direct feedback that allows them to revise their thinking and improve their mathematical practices AND practice perseverance as they iterate and work their way to the correct solution. Lastly, and most powerfully, this tool gives teachers the ability to randomly pair students with electronic devices, allowing students to create questions and challenges for each other based on aligned content. This can help students with special needs as it provides a model for mathematical thinking. Check it out at https://teacher.desmos.com/ . In Ohio, at least, this is a crucial tool to which students need to be exposed, since this is the same calculator interface we will be using on our State Achievement Tests.

The last of my recommended APPS is really one that can be used in all disciplines, and isn't limited to math or ELA. As students progress into higher and higher grade levels or as content gets more and more challenging, it is essential to help students see the relationships between ideas. Often, students with special needs, who have difficulty with organizing information, need support in keeping ideas and these relationships straight. is a great application that allows you to draw a diagram-a mini map, concept map, flow chart, etc.-and convert it to a text outline, and vice versa. This is a great way to help students with special needs organize information for something that they need to write. It can also be used to in relationship to the text itself. For example, copying and pasting a portion of text into a Word document will allow the software to create a diagram of the text to help students organize this text and make sense of the relationships amongst ideas, perhaps say, in a science text. Students also have the option of manipulating these diagrams to reorganize them in ways that are uniquely suited for how they learn to process the information. Although it is appropriate for all students, adults can benefit from it as well. I used it when I started writing this blog!

While these APPS don't solve everything, they do transform classrooms into areas of grade-level learning for all students. Through the use of APPS, I know that you will discover additional ways to help support all students. I encourage you to respond to this blog or e-mail us to tell us how you're using them. I'd love to learn more, too!
This post originally appeared on Achieve the Core, in partnership with Student Achievement Partners.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Three APPS to Support Students with Special Needs | NEA

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
I had the best time with teachers the last few days, curriculum-mapping away. It's what curriculum directors live for: discussions of vertical and horizontal alignment. However, about halfway through the second day, I could tell that I had "lost" two teachers, more specifically, two intervention specialists.

# data[].attributes.body
Put the IEP into action within the classroom and special education settings.

# data[].attributes.body
Continuously monitor the ELL student's progress towards the IEP goals.

# data[].attributes.body
Regularly review and adjust the IEP as needed to ensure the student's success.