AF Amistad High School Family Handbook 2017-2018 | 47 copying other’s work may result in In School Suspension, Out of School suspension, loss of academic credit, and/or other consequences. Special Services Achievement First is required and committed to serving all scholars enrolled in our schools, including scholars with disabilities and scholars with a history of academic and/or behavior difficulties. Response to Intervention (RTI) The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires us (in collaboration with our partner districts) to identify, locate, and evaluate students in need of special education and related services. Our primary mechanism to identify students who may qualify for special education is the Response to Intervention (RTI.) We believe that providing early and robust interventions, that are scientifically-based, can simultaneously help us identify students who may qualify for special education services and stem the over-identification of racial minorities in special education. RTI encompass a high quality curriculum and instruction in the general education classroom, as well as interventions tier 2 interventions- academic or behavioral supports beyond what is offered in the general classrooms- and tier 3 interventions- individual instruction for the scholars who need the most support. For this reason, we rely on regular progress monitoring and active Child Study Team to determine which students may require more intense interventions and/or should be referred to the IEP Team for an initial evaluation to determine eligibility for Special Education and related services. If you have concerns about your student’s progress, you may refer your child to the Child Study Team by submitting a written request to the front office. If you have questions about the Child Study Team, please contact Jennifer Caruso, Dean of Special Services, at 203-675-8990. Referral to Special Education Although we rely on the RTI process to provide early interventions and identify scholars who should be evaluated for special education and related services, the lack of RTI data should never be used as the reason not to refer a student to determine his/her eligibility for special education and related services. Once the school refers the student to a team, a series of meetings must occur in a specified timeframe to potentially evaluate the student for special education and related services: Referral Meeting: The first meeting is when the team decides which evaluations a student should receive. This may be a meeting or may be in the form of email communication.