1. The purpose of this policy is to ensure
that the behavioral and academic needs of every student are met through an
instructional model that is designed to address student learning with quality
classroom instruction and opportunities for intervention. The Mississippi
Department Education (MDE) shall require every school district to follow the
instructional model, which consists of three (3) tiers of instruction:
a. Tier 1: Quality classroom instruction
based on Mississippi Curriculum Frameworks
b. Tier 2: Focused supplemental instruction
c. Tier 3: Intensive interventions
specifically designed to meet the individual needs of students
2. If strategies at Tier 1 and
Tier 2 are unsuccessful, students must be referred to the Teacher Support Team
(TST). The TST is the problem-solving unit responsible for interventions
developed at Tier 3. Each school must have a Teacher Support Team (TST)
implemented in accordance with the process developed by the MDE. The
chairperson of the TST shall be the school principal as the school's
instructional leader or the principal's designee. The designee may not be an
individual whose primary responsibility is special education. Interventions
will be:
a. designed to address the deficit
areas;
b. research based;
c. implemented as designed by the
TST;
d. supported by data regarding
the effectiveness of interventions.
3. Teachers should use progress monitoring
information to:
a. determine if students are
making adequate progress,
b.
identify students as soon as they begin to fall behind, and
c. modify instruction early enough to ensure
each student gains essential skills.
Monitoring of student progress is an ongoing process that may
be measured through informal classroom assessment, benchmark assessment
instruments and large-scale assessments.
4. After a referral is made, the TST must
develop and begin implementation of an intervention(s) within two weeks. No
later than eight weeks after implementation of the intervention(s) the TST must
conduct a documented review of the interventions to determine success of the
intervention(s). No later than 16 weeks after implementation of the
intervention(s), a second review must be conducted to determine whether the
intervention(s) is successful. If the intervention(s) is determined to be
unsuccessful, then the student will be referred for a comprehensive assessment.
5. In accordance with the
Literacy-Based Promotion Act of 2013, each public school student who exhibits a
substantial deficiency in reading at any time, as demonstrated through:
a. performance on a reading screener approved
or developed by the MDE, or
b.
through locally determined assessments and teacher observations conducted in
Kindergarten and Grades 1 through 3, or
c. through statewide end-of-year assessments
or approved alternate yearly assessments in Grade 3,
must be given intensive reading instruction and intervention
immediately following the identification of the reading deficiency. A student
who was promoted from Grade 3 to Grade 4 under a good cause exemption of the
Literacy-Based Promotion Act must be given intensive reading instruction and
intervention. The intensive intervention must include effective instructional
strategies and appropriate teaching methodologies necessary to assist the
student in becoming a successful reader, able to read at or above grade level,
and ready for promotion to the next grade.
6. A dyslexia screener must be administered
to all students during the spring of their kindergarten year and the fall of
their first grade year. The screening must include the following components:
a. Phonological awareness and phonemic
awareness;
b. Sound symbol
recognition;
c. Alphabet
knowledge;
d. Decoding skills;
e. Encoding skills; and
f Rapid naming (quickly naming objects,
pictures, colors, or symbols (letters or digits) aloud.
7. All students in Kindergarten and grades 1
through 3 shall be administered a state-approved screener within the first 30
days of school and repeated at mid-year and at the end of the school year to
identify any deficiencies in reading. In addition to failure to make adequate
progress following Tier 1 and Tier 2, students will be referred to the TST for
interventions as specified in Response to Intervention guidelines developed by
MDE if any of the following events occur:
a.
Grades 1-3: A student has failed one (1) grade;
b. Grades 4-12: A student has failed two (2)
grades;
c. A student failed either
of the preceding two grades and has been suspended or expelled for more than
twenty (20) days in the current school year; OR
d. A student scores at the lowest level on
any part of the Grade 3 or Grade 7 statewide accountability assessment.
e. A student is promoted from
Grade 3 to Grade 4 under a good cause exemption of the Literacy-Based Promotion
Act.
Referrals to the TST must be made within the first twenty (20)
school days of a school year if the student meets any of the criteria a-d
stated above in Paragraph 6.
