Legal Requirements for Interventions

There are a number of legal mandates, which should foster more effective school-based interventions and better data collection/analysis. All New Jersey's districts and public schools must integrate these legal requirements into their policies, rules, and practices.  Implementing these requirements will directly effect district wide and school-based resources and interventions that must be provided to assist students: 

1. The No Child Left Behind Act's (NCLB) mandate that all disaggregated student subgroups achieve adequate yearly progress (AYP) on the state's standards-based assessments or else schools and districts face progressively increasing sanctions provides a major motivation to prevent and address student difficulties, which interfere with teaching and learning. Also, NCLB’s requirements for scientifically-based teaching and learning strategies should provide further guidance in developing and implementing these interventions.

2. Intervention and Referral Services - These New Jersey regulations specify the following minimum requirements for I & RS teams:

a. Identify learning, behavior and health difficulties of students;

b. Collect thorough information on the identified learning, behavior and health difficulties;

c. Develop and implement action plans which provide for appropriate school or community interventions or referrals to school and community resources, based on the collected data and desired outcomes for the identified learning, behavior and health difficulties;

d. Provide support, guidance and professional development to school staff who identify learning, behavior and health difficulties;

e. Provide support, guidance and professional development to school staff who participate in each building’s system for planning and providing intervention and referral services;

f. Actively involve parents or guardians in the development and implementation of intervention and referral services action plans;

g. Coordinate the access to and delivery of school resources and services for achieving the outcomes identified in the intervention and referral services action plans;

h. Coordinate the services of community-based social and health provider agencies and other community resources for achieving the outcomes identified in the intervention and referral services action plans;

i. Maintain records of all requests for assistance and all intervention and referral services action plans and all related student information, according to corresponding state and federal mandates; 

j. Review and assess the effectiveness of the provisions of each intervention and referral services action plan in achieving the outcomes identified in each action plan and modify each action plan to achieve the outcomes, as appropriate; and

k. At a minimum, annually review the intervention and referral services action plans and the actions taken as a result of the building’s system of intervention and referral services and make recommendations to the principal for improving school programs and services, as appropriate.

3. Programs to Support Student Development - In addition to to the mandates for I &RS teams, Chapter 16 of New Jersey's administrative Code includes an array of other mandates that New Jersey's public schools must address, which support student development. Clearly, teachers, administrators, parents and I&RS teams must ensure that all students, including students identified as experiencing problems are receiving these supports.

4. Also, two new administrative codes require districts to adhere to a number of mandates to prevent and address various problems students may experience:

     a. Programs and Practices to Support Student Achievement (6A:13) 

     b. Elements of High Quality Preschool Programs (6A:13A)

5.   Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 has additional mandates for school-based interventions that must be provided by schools and districts for students with disabilities who require school-based accommodations, interventions, and services but who are not eligible for special education or whole parents refuse to consent to implementation of the initial IEP.  [There are students with disabilities, who require school-based accommodations and interventions, which don't meet IDEIA's criteria, including the allowable refusal of parents to implement an initial IEP.]

6. The Individuals with Disabilities Education and Improvement Act (IDEIA) has a number of provisions, which provide a strong impetus for research-based interventions and subsequent documentation:

a. Over identification of minority students - The disproportionate numbers of certain racial and ethnic groups of students who are classified in New Jersey could require changes in school-based interventions, under IDEIA 2004. PART B, SEC. 616 of IDEIA requires states to utilize quantifiable data to measure district’s classifications and placements for a disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic groups in special education and related services. If disproportionality is found the state must review and subsequently require a revision of the corresponding policies, procedures, and practices. Also, the state may require the district to utilize up to 15% of Part B funds to provide comprehensive coordinated early intervening services. 

b. Funding resources and documentation - Districts can use up to 15% IDEIA-Part B funds - “Sec 613” permits the use of funds for early intervening services to develop and implement coordinated, early intervening educational services including the following activities:

• Professional development for teachers and other school staff to enable such personnel to deliver scientifically based academic instruction and behavioral interventions, including scientifically based literacy instruction, and, where appropriate, instruction on the use of adaptive and instructional software; and

• ‘Providing educational and behavioral evaluations, services, and supports, including scientifically based literacy instruction.

If funds are used for this purpose then the district must annually report to the State educational agency on the number of students being served and the subsequent number of students who receive special education and related services during the preceding 2-year period. Section VI: Disproportionate Representation of Minority Students of New Jersey's Special Education Self Assessment can provide guidance in this endeavor.

c. “Specific Learning Disabilities” (SLD) criteria - SLD represent the largest percentage of students classified under IDEIA as the following chart reflects.

Given this data, the new “response to intervention” (RTI) criteria for SLD will focus attention on research-based teaching and learning activities. For example, according to section 614(a)(6), districts:

• Are not required to consider if a child has a severe discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability

• May use a process that determines if the child responds to scientific, research-based intervention as a part of the evaluation procedures.

Throughout this resource, we provide research-supported teaching and learning strategies for all students. In addition, Dr. Swanson at the University of California - Riverside, conducted a meta-analysis, which synthesized the results of 272 research studies over 30 years that can provide guidance to I&RS teams when intervening with students with learning disabilities. Also, based on the definition of “specific learning disabilities” (SLD) contained in the 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA), nonlinguistic representations may be more emphasized. In general, the term “…means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which disorder may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations.” Consequently, to address the academic problems students may experience with language mediated tasks in school, interventions may be beneficial if they rely on nonlinguistic representations, which research demonstrates have a positive impact on student learning.

    d. New Jersey's Special Education Regulations include requirements that each district develops written procedures that include:

• "...utilizing strategies identified through the Intervention and Referral Services program according to N.J.A.C. 6A:16-8, as well as other general education strategies..." (6A:14-3.3 (a)3i)

• Interventions in the general education setting shall be provided to students exhibiting academic difficulties and shall be utilized, as appropriate, prior to referring a student for an evaluation of eligibility for special education and related services (6A:14-3.3 (b));

• Within Abbott districts, the system of assessment and interventions within general education programs according to N.J.A.C.6A:10A-3.1 shall be implemented for all students who have reading as their primary area of difficulty (6A:14-3.3 (b)1);

• The staff of the general education program shall maintain written documentation, including data setting forth the type of interventions utilized, the frequency and duration of each intervention, and the effectiveness of each intervention.(6A:14-3.3 (c)); and

• When it is determined through analysis of relevant documentation and data concerning each intervention utilized that interventions in the general education program have not adequately addressed the educational difficulties, and it is believed that the student may have a disability, the student shall be referred for evaluation to determine eligibility for special education programs and services under this chapter.(6A:14-3.3 (c)1)

• Child Study team members and, to the extent appropriate, specialists in the area of disability, may provide services to the educational staff with regard to techniques, materials and programs. Services include, but are not limited to, the following: consultation with school staff and parents, training of school staff, the design, implementation and evaluation of techniques addressing academic and behavioral difficulties.  Child Study Team may provide preventive and support services to nondisabled students, and may participate on Intervention and Referral Services teams pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:16-8. (N.J.A.C. 6A:14-3.1 (d)3,4,6)