STONINGTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Student Assistance Teams
Elementary
Introduction
Classroom support procedures are designed to ensure that every effort is made to meet the needs
of students within their regular education setting. This assurance protects each student’s right to
be educated in the least restrictive environment and provides support to the classroom teacher.
Our district provides classroom support through the Student Assistance Team process. All
schools within the district utilize the same procedures and standardized forms. Completion of
the forms is the responsibility of the referring staff member seeking assistance from the SAT.
This process is the responsibility of regular education. It is the vehicle for reviewing a child’s
needs, planning strategies and reviewing progress as well as providing documentation of all
efforts made to assist the student. This is a process, which is designed to support regular
education students and must be carefully distinguished from the Planning and Placement Team
process. The PPT is specifically designed for potential and identified special education students.
Federal and state regulations require that alternative strategies, as provided through our districts’
Student Assistance Teams, must be implemented prior to referral for special education.
Students who are experiencing difficulty in any area which affects their classroom performance
including but not limited to concerns regarding academic, social-emotional, speech-language,
perceptual motor, health and self-care related areas should be referred to the Student Assistance
Team (SAT) in their school. Parents must be notified (by the referring staff member) of the SAT
referral, consent is not required.
Purpose of the Student Assistance Team
The process serves many functions:

Alternative strategies are developed, implemented and evaluated for any child experiencing
difficulty. If all appropriate strategies have been fully utilized and proven ineffective in
meeting the student’s needs, then a referral to special education may be considered.

Support for the classroom teacher can be provided by the members of the Student Assistance
Team through suggestions for program modifications, instructional strategies, behavioral
strategies and other recommendations.

For students who have been referred to PPT but determined ineligible for special education
(or 504), the team can review the information considered by the PPT and utilize it to develop
alternate strategies to meet the child’s needs.

Students who have been exited from special education services can be referred to the process
for support in the regular classroom setting.
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
Students who are not proficient in English and require an English Language Learner (ELL)
program may be referred to the process. The student’s progress should be reviewed at
regular intervals.

Students whose behavior, social emotional functioning, attendance or progress in school is of
concern should be referred to the SAT. Students who have been repeatedly suspended
should also be referred. If the behavior, attendance, progress or suspensions continue and do
not appear to be responding to interventions, these students must be referred to PPT using the
following guidelines:
1) Students will be referred to SAT following events of high severity, low incidence,
such as fighting, threatening, when those behaviors result in a period of 5
suspensions.
2) Students will be referred to SAT for low severity, high incidence behaviors, such as
tardiness, frequent absence, work refusal, class cutting and academic failure of two or
more classes for one marking period.
3) Students who are chronically tardy or absent will have notices/computer print outs of
attendance mailed home at least bi-monthly for parent/guardian review. Chronic
status would typically mean that a student is late or absent twenty percent of the time
during one month. For example, the student would reach “chronic” status if s/he is
late or absent 4 days in one month.
4) Referral to PPT is not an automatic assumption that a student requires special
education services. Continuing efforts to ameliorate factors, which are impeding
success, will be made within regular education setting.
5) Interventions implemented by the SAT team will be monitored for efficacy. Data will
be used to document progress and refine intervention.
In summary, the purpose of the Student Assistance Team process is to provide support in
the form of alternative strategies to students in the regular classroom setting.
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Procedures of the Student Assistance Team Meeting
1. The SAT will consist of at least one regular education teacher and an administrator, a
representative from guidance (where appropriate), a reading support teacher, psychologist
and/or social worker, school nurse as needed, a case partner, and other teachers or specialists
as needed. Parents will be invited to attend, but their participation is not mandatory in order
to proceed with the meeting.
2. Staff members with concerns about students who are not making significant progress with
Tier 1 support will make a referral to the SAT. The staff member is required to complete the
appropriate referral forms, review the student’s cumulative file and contact parent. The SAT
process begins once the building administrator or designee receives the completed forms.
Parental notification of the referral is required prior to referral but consent is not required to
continue the process.
3. The administrator or designee will notify the SAT members, the referring staff, parents and
other appropriate specialists of the time and date of the SAT meeting.
4. The administrator will assign a case partner to work with the referring teacher prior to the
scheduled SAT meeting. The case partner will work with the teacher to gather baseline data
prior to the meeting. The baseline data collected by the teacher and case partner should
connect directly to the identified target area of concern.
Format of the Student Assistance Team Meeting
Meeting #1
1. A presentation is made by the classroom teacher:
 Summarizes pertinent information and history from the cumulative file
 Identifies student strengths
 Identifies areas of concern, both academic and behavioral.
2. The Student Assistance Team clarifies the teacher’s concerns.
3. The SAT Team defines the problem(s) that need to be addressed, and attempts to determine
why it is occurring.
4. The team brainstorms strategies that can be incorporated into the action plan.
5. The team develops that action plan and sets progress report date.
6. If the parent is not in attendance, the parent is notified of the action plan.
7. The teacher implements the plan and documents student progress.
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Meeting #2 (follow-up procedure)
Case Review
1. Evaluate interventions as stated on action plan
2. Review pertinent work samples/new information
3. Revise action plan as needed
4. Complete follow up form and set review date if needed
5. Parent notified of progress, if not present for the meeting
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Step 1
Teacher identifies areas of concern in the classroom
Step 2
Contact parents regarding concerns
Step 3
Teacher begins documentation of behaviors and implements
typical interventions and modifications
Modifications
Successful
Exit
Modifications
Unsuccessful
Step 4
Complete SAT referral form and hand to Principal.
Referring teacher distributes SAT Input Form(s) to all relevant teachers. Case Partner is assigned.
Step 5
SAT meeting is scheduled
Step 6
At time meeting is scheduled, referring teacher should call parent and invite to SAT
Step 7
Meeting is held:
Academic Issues: Teacher brings: work samples, evidence of delay (current reading/math levels)
relevant group test scores
Behavioral Issues: Any data collection done, relevant work samples
Health Issues: Nurse invited, bring current health information
Team develops Action Plan to address concerns – setting goals by which the success of
interventions will be judged
Step 8
Action plan & modifications are implemented by classroom teacher with the support of a case partner
Step 9
SAT reconvenes to determine progress and reevaluate goals
Modifications
Unsuccessful
Go back to Step 7
Modifications
Successful
Exit Process
This cycle may repeat as many
times as deemed appropriate by
SAT Team
Step 10
If SAT modifications and strategies have not been successful move to PPT referral process
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