IRIS ONLINE CENTER: The Pre-Referral Process:
Procedures for Supporting Students with Academic and
Behavioral Concerns
The IRIS Center. (2008). The pre-referral process: Procedures for
supporting students with academic and behavioral concerns. Retrieved
from https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/preref/
Initial Thoughts- after viewing the video
What is the pre–referral process?
• The Pre-Referral Process is a process at which helps prevent any unnecessary/unwanted
referrals to the SPED (Special Education) Program. This process is usually implemented
around 4-6 weeks with the use of strategies developed, in order to aide in
academic/behavioral outcomes. I think many would agree that parents should be involved
throughout the process.
What are the stages of the pre-referral process and what do they involve?
• First Stage (Initial Concern) – Begins when a school staff member (ex. Teacher) has
concerns about a student’s academic/ behavioral performance. When expressing this
concern, it can either be done formally or informally.
• Second Step (Information Gathering) – The information on the child that is needed
includes any methods, strategies, and/or materials that have been used previously. The
student’s current skill level and background knowledge/experiences are also important to
know. Another thing to find out is their school and home expectations (for academic and
behavior), as well as their classroom behavior management techniques.
• Third Step (Information Sharing and Team Gathering) – This is actually considered as
the action step of this process. In this step, a team meets and discusses what intervention
plan to carry out for that student. This team would be composed of individuals such as
(Normal Ed. Teacher, Reading Specialist, School Counselor, etc…); This team would be
diverse and would also offer something different, which could prove very beneficial in
promoting that student’s success.
• Fourth Step (Discussions of Possible Strategies) – This step is normally done after the
team has their first initial meeting. Now this meeting allows each member to come up
with a strategy that will work together to help the student.
• Fifth Step (Implementation and Monitoring of Strategies) – This step is mainly done to
keep an eye on the student, as well as their progress. The implementing of the strategies
discussed in step 4 are immediately put into great effect. By monitoring the students
progress, it allows the team the ability to see if the implemented strategies are working.
