Once an EC referral is made, school-based EC personnel will request an Initial Referral Meeting.  An Individualized Education Program (IEP) team will meet to discuss the referral.  Parents/guardians are required members of the IEP team.

Initial Referral Meeting Overview

The Individualized Education Program (IEP) team will:

• Identify the referral source and date of referral.
• Review and record your child’s strengths in academics (reading, writing, and math) and functional skills (daily living, social/behavioral, and communication skills).
• Discuss the reasons for the referral, including concerns related to academic, behavioral, and/or functional needs.
• Review and summarize existing data including past and current grades, interventions/data collected from the MTSS process, parent-provided formal evaluation results, home information, observation data, screening data, local and state assessment data, etc.
• Discuss and decide if it is necessary to conduct an evaluation due to a suspected disability.
• Obtain parent consent or refusal for formal evaluations should the IEP decide to move forward.

Parents will be asked to share student strengths:

• What are your child’s academic strengths in reading, math, and written language? 
• What are your child’s strengths in daily living skills at home and in the community?
• What are your child’s behavioral/social skill strengths?
• What are your child’s study/work habits?  What can they do independently?
• Does your child communicate effectively with adults and other children?
• What are your child’s motor skill strengths (gross/fine motor)? Does your child play sports? Enjoy art?

The IEP Team will discuss reasons for the referral and areas of concerns:

• What are your child’s areas of need?  What are your concerns?
• Is your child having problems with reading, writing, or spelling?
• Is your child having trouble with basic math concepts or problem-solving?
• Is your child having trouble with behavior/social skills? 
• Is your child having health/medical problems that are affecting school performance?
• Is your child having trouble communicating? 
• Is your child having trouble with motor skills?
• Is your child unable to take care of basic needs for daily living - feeding, toileting, dressing?

Share Results of outside/previous evaluations, if applicable:

Any information you have from previous or outside evaluations that would help the IEP team more fully understand your child’s strengths and needs can be shared with the team, including documented medical and/or mental health diagnoses from a licensed medical professional.  Please provide in advance of the meeting if at all possible.