Chapter 1: Pre-Referral Services

Finding Help for Your Struggling Child

Who is this for?

This chapter is for parents who know that their child is struggling in school, but are unsure whether or not their child has a learning disability.

Why is this important?

Millions of school age children experience difficulties with learning. Their struggles in school may be due to factors such as inadequate instruction, cultural or language differences or, in some cases, a learning disability. This chapter outlines a number of services and programs that may be available to help these children succeed before they are evaluated for special eduation.

What can parents do?

Parents can find out if the school has any additional services that might be available to help their child. This chapter explores just a few services available from provisions of IDEA and NCLB. Parents can also ask key questions about the quality of instruction and any additional support that their child is receiving.

IDEA Words and Terms to Know

• Intervention

  A change in instructing the student in the area of learning difficulty to try to improve learning and achieve adequate progress.

• Pre-referral interventions

  Interventions delivered in the student's regular classroom that attempt to improve learning prior to a referral for formal special education evaluation.

• Specific learning disability (SLD)

  IDEA defines SLD as "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."

Traditionally, when students have not been able to keep up with the rest of the class academically, good teachers have tried using alternative ways of teaching before referring them for special education. The same is true for students who present challenging behaviors that interfere with learning. In an attempt to provide this type of early help, many schools, school districts – and even some states – have established procedures for "pre-referral interventions," which are designed to provide additional support to struggling students.

Your child's teacher may have discussed this kind of support with you. But if not, and if you suspect your child is struggling, you should ask to meet with the teacher to discuss your concerns. Frequently, in response to concerns expressed by either a teacher or a parent, the school will likely offer pre-referral interventions as a “first step” toward improving your child's performance. As a parent, it is important that you understand just how pre-referral interventions might work.

Pre-referral services go by many names. Your school district or school may offer support teams, such as teacher assistance teams or child study teams, to help provide consultation to teachers. To help find the right approach to teaching your child – often called an instructional method or intervention — the teacher may consult with other teachers, the reading specialist/teacher, the special education teacher, counselors, psychologists, or other education professionals. They may conduct informal educational and behavioral evaluations or screenings to make decisions about the services and supports your child needs.


Feel free to ask questions about the types of teaching methods or interventions the teacher is recommending so you understand how your child will be taught and what kind of progress is expected. You always have the right to request a formal evaluation (Chapter 3) if you don’t believe your child is making adequate progress through pre-referral approaches.

So, if your child is having trouble learning, it doesn't necessarily mean that he or she has a disability, such as a specific learning disability. A learning disability may be one possible source of the problem, but there may be others:

• The school's approach to teaching basic academic skills like reading may not be achieving adequate results for all students.
• Your child's previous learning may not have prepared him or her sufficiently for the lessons the teacher is presenting.
• Cultural and/or language differences might present a barrier to communication with the teacher or prevent access to the learning materials.
• Another condition, such as attention difficulties, poor hearing, or vision, may be affecting learning.

Here are a few different ways that the school may provide assistance to your child before a formal evaluation for special education programs is considered:

• Early Intervening Services
• Reading First
• Response-to-Intervention (this third process, strongly encouraged by IDEA 2004, is discussed in detail in Chapter 2.

Early Intervening Services

A new provision in IDEA 2004 — called Early Intervening Services — is designed to encourage school districts to provide additional support for struggling students within the general education classroom.

IDEA 2004 allows school districts the option of using a portion (up to 15%) of their federal special education funds to develop and implement coordinated Early Intervening Services for children in kindergarten through Grade 12 who are not currently identified as needing special education or related services but who need additional academic and behavioral support to succeed in general education. IDEA 2004 particularly encourages school districts to use this new option in kindergarten through Grade 3.

This money can be used for professional development (teacher training) as well as for providing direct services for your child. These services may include educational and behavioral evaluations, services and supports such as beginning and/or remedial reading instruction, interventions to address behavior, small group instruction, and instruction in the use of adaptive and instructional software (computer programs that improve the student's access to information or target specific academic skills). IDEA 2004 requires that the academic and instructional interventions used must be backed by scientifically based evidence of their effectiveness.

Important Note:

Don't confuse Early Intervening Services with "early intervention services" provided to children younger than school age under IDEA.

When these supports are successful, both the school and the student can benefit. The school can save money on costly evaluations required to determine eligibility for special education as well as the additional costs associated with special education services. Typically, pre-referral interventions are provided in the student's regular classroom so they receive support aimed at helping him or her work at grade level. The goal is to help as many students as possible reach their potential in school without needing to be placed in special education programs.

Over Identification. In some areas of the U.S., students of different cultural backgrounds are diagnosed as having disabilities more frequently than would be expected based on their share of the population. For example, African American children may be more frequently diagnosed as having a disability than white children. This concern with "over identification" is yet another reason that Early Intervening Services was added to IDEA 2004.

If a school district has been determined to have significant over identification (or "disproportionality") the district may be required to use IDEA funds for Early Intervening Services to provide pre-referral services to students showing academic and/or behavioral difficulties, and particularly for those children in ethnic groups that have been significantly over-identified as needing special education services.

Important Note:

While Early Intervening Services are funded by IDEA, parents should understand that the Procedural Safeguards afforded to students and their parents under IDEA (described in Chapter 4: Procedural Safeguards) do not apply to students receiving Early Intervening Services because they are not currently eligible for formal services under IDEA, which is explained in Chapter 6: Eligibility Determination. However, some IDEA protections, such as those for students involved in school disciplinary actions, may apply. See Chapter 11: Dispute Resolution Options for additional information.

Reading First

Established by the latest version of the nation's largest federal education law, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), Reading First is a program designed to establish reading programs for students in kindergarten through Grade 3 that are based on scientifically based reading research.

The Reading First program provides funds for teacher training, reading screening and assessments, and instructional materials and strategies proven to prevent or remediate reading failure. The program is available to elementary schools with significantly high rates of reading failure.

While learning to read is a complex, multi-dimensional process, NCLB has helped de-mystify reading instruction by providing what research has determined are the "essential components of reading instruction."

Important Note:

These "essential components of reading instruction" have also been incorporated into the eligibility provisions of IDEA 2004. This will be discussed in more detail in Chapter 6: Eligibility Determination. Parents can now use the essential components of reading instruction to make sure that their child is getting reading instruction based on reading research.

See the Reading Instruction Checklist to learn what your school's reading program should include.

There are several other provisions of No Child Left Behind that can be used to provide help for struggling learners. These provisions are explained in a companion guide entitled, Making the 'No Child Left Behind Act' Work for Children Who Struggle to Learn: A Parent's Guide.

Final Word

From this chapter, you should understand that your school may already have pre-referral interventions in place to support struggling students. These services may be offered using IDEA funds, NCLB programs or a combination of the two. Regardless of how you and your child's school might go about finding ways to offer additional support and improve learning, it's important to understand that your school has both the incentive and funding available to serve your child.

And remember, good communication between you and your child’s school is critical to making your child a successful learner. Use the "Checklist for Home-School Communications" to assist you.

In Chapter 2 you'll learn about another approach for providing early, research-based instructional interventions to struggling students. Go to Chapter 2: Response-to-Intervention.

Table of Contents

• An Overview of IDEA Parent Guide 
• Chapter 1: Pre-Referral Services
• Chapter 2: Response-to-Intervention
• Chapter 3: Referral/Request for Evaluation
• Chapter 4: Procedural Safeguards — Understanding and Exercising Your Legal Rights
• Chapter 5: Evaluation: Learning More About Your Child
• Chapter 6: Eligibility Determination: Determining Your Child's Need for Special Education
• Chapter 7: Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) — Developing Your Child's Education Plan
• Chapter 8: Transition — Planning Your Child's Future Success
• Chapter 9: Students in Private School: Understanding Your Child's Special Education Options
• Chapter 10: Student Discipline — Addressing Serious Behavior Issues and Concerns
• Chapter 11: Dispute Resolution Options — Understanding Your Options for Settling Disputes

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Note: The IDEA Parent Guide was created to provide a basic understanding of the key requirements of the federal law under IDEA. The information presented here is not legal advice and should not be used as a legal resource.

Candace Cortiella is Director of The Advocacy Institute, a nonprofit focused on improving the lives of people with disabilities through public policy and other initiatives. The mother of a young adult with learning disabilities, she lives in the Washington, D.C., area.