This guide is a set of strategies and key practices with the ultimate goal of supporting students with the most intensive behavioral needs, their families, and educators in their transitions back to school during and following the global pandemic in a manner that prioritizes their health and safety, social and emotional needs, and behavioral and academic growth.

Progress monitoring is an essential part of a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) and, specifically, the data-based individualization (DBI) process. It allows educators and administrators to understand whether students are responding to intervention and if adaptations are needed. In addition, these data are often used to set high-quality academic and behavioral goals within the individualized education program (IEP) for students with disabilities. With the closure of schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic, educators and administrators need to rethink how they collect and analyze progress monitoring data in a virtual setting. This collection of frequently asked questions is intended to provide a starting place for consideration.

The facilitating ongoing data team meeting documents can assist teams in ensuring that ongoing meetings for students receiving intensive intervention run smoothly. These tools are intended to support teams as they review student progress monitoring data after the initial intervention plan has been put in place and determine whether the student is making progress at an acceptable rate or if adaptations to the intervention plan are necessary. This suite of tools includes a sample agenda, facilitator guide, participant guide, and note taking template.  

The initial data team meeting documents can assist teams in facilitating an efficient and effective process for analyzing data and designing intensive intervention plans for students.

Before a student is referred for intensive intervention, it is important that the team get a holistic sense of the student, including relevant background information, current performance, current supports and previously attempted intervention(s), and other relevant data. These data meeting tools focused on preparing for the meeting ensure that team members are prepared to discuss students.

This fourteen minute video shares Wyoming’s journey in building the capacity of educators to implement data-based individualization (DBI) to improve academic and behavior outcomes for students with disabilities as part of their state systemic improvement plan (SSIP). Wyoming administrators, teachers, parents and students from Laramie County School District # 1 and preschool sites share how DBI implementation impacted teacher efficacy, team meetings, quality of services, student confidence, and state and local collaboration.

For children with the most severe and persistent academic and/or behavioral challenges, parent and family involvement is vital. School teams can use this guide to better understand intensive intervention and how to engage parents and families with the process.

Teams are a vital part of an effective multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) across both academics and behavior as well as special education. Making connections across the across the various teams used in MTSS and special education can be challenging. This resource from NCII and the PBIS Center, provides information about how DBI can support IEP implementation and provides a table with key considerations for teams working across the MTSS system.

This series of infographics, developed in collaboration with the Rhode Island Parent Information Network, are intended to provide a high-level overview of intensive intervention, questions parents and families might want to ask school teams to learn more, and tips for parents in supporting their child who is receiving intensive intervention. These resources should not replace ongoing communication between schools, and parents and families.

This checklist can be used by intervention providers or planning teams to review, document, and improve implementation of the data-based individualization (DBI) process and monitor whether the student intervention plans were implemented as intended.