A student suspected of having an educational disability is referred to the Multi Tier System of Support Team (MTSS) at his/her school. Interventions are identified and put in place to assist the student. Families are notified when students are referred to the team. If the interventions that have been put in place are not effective, the team would refer the student to the school based Exceptional Education team to consider the child for an evaluation. Upon completion of the evaluation, the team reconvenes with parents to determine eligibility. An Individual Education Plan (IEP) is developed for students who meet eligibility criteria and a program is developed to implement that IEP. The evaluation, eligibility and IEP development must occur within 90 days of initial referral. IEP's are reviewed at least annually, and students are reviewed at least once every three years to determine if further evaluation is necessary. However, a special education referral will be made anytime a parent or school employee suspects a student has a disability.
What is NC MTSS?
Family engagement within an MTSS is defined as the active and meaningful partnerships that educators build and maintain with students’ families for the purpose of supporting student learning. It embodies the idea that all parties are equally invested in the student’s educational experience and all parties bring knowledge and skills of equal value to the table to work together.
What is "support"?
NC schools that are implementing an MTSS may talk about support for students. To further define that support, NC organizes these supports around the instruction, the curriculum, and the environment.