Intervention Assistance Programs and Prereferral Teams

Abstract

There has been an unprecedented growth of school prereferral programs and intervention assistance teams since the late 1970s. In this article we discuss their history, rationale, and philosophical perspectives, report on their legal and public policy basis, and evaluate the research base. Several university-initiated model programs and professional development activities have reduced the number of referrals for special education and increased the use of consultation services. However, only research in Mainstream Assistance Teams has directly demonstrated student improvement in learning and behavior. Implications for future research and strategies for serving students who are difficult to teach are discussed.

Prereferral Interventions

“…Very few studies analyzed the quality of the interventions themselves (Carter & Sugai, 1989;Gutkin & Nemeth, 1997;Safran & Safran, 1996).…”

“…This principle of responsibility instilled on general education teachers is one of the most compelling reasons to study the types of interventions that these teachers implement with ELLs experiencing academic difficulties. The pre-referral team serves to optimize the functioning of such a teacher, thus allowing for analysis of optimal instructional conditions prior to referral to special education (Chalfant & Pysh, 1988;Hayek, 1987;Safran & Safran, 1996). Also, without ensuring that ELLs, as well as all other students, are receiving best practice instruction, special education identification can not be warranted (Apling & Jones, 2005 highlighted the responsibility of all participants in the educational and placement process to demonstrate that each identified child needs special education services.…”

“…Limitations of the TAT research by Chalfant and colleagues (1989) include the absence of direct measures of learning, reliance on teacher perceptions and team consensus (Safran & Safran, 1996). Without student outcome measures and/or other direct indicators of student progress, assumptions about TAT effectiveness cannot be made.…”

“…The first pre-referral intervention programs emanated from the University of Minnesota's Institute of Research on Learning Disabilities. These programs were highly formalized, data-based behavioral consultation programs aimed at reducing the number of inappropriate referrals to special education (Safran & Safran, 1996).…”

“…Although some research has measured the success of pre-referral teams mostly using the reduction of referral rates and the validity of special education referrals as outcome criteria, the research is lacking with respect to analyzing whether referred students are actually learning more than before the interventions were implemented, and/or if they continue to be successful in the long term (Safran & Safran, 1996).…”