Learning Disabilities Changes Effective December 1, 2013

NOTICE:  STATE MANDATED CHANGE FOR LEARNING DISABILITIES REFERRALS

Beginning on December 1, 2013 (as required by Wisconsin law) all initial evaluations of public school students for a specific learning disability (SLD) will use information from interventions addressing the student's learning needs in the regular education classroom. The district will be using a Response to Intervention (RtI) approach for initial SLD evaluations to determine a student's need for special education services.

The essence of RtI is to have teachers monitor the progress of a student's response to intensive, research or evidence based interventions. The interventions are provided in the regular education classroom and are used to determine if the child is making sufficient progress. The district staff will provide all suitable intervention options before referring a child for an intervention that is outside the regular education experience (i.e. special education).

In preparation for this legally required change, the district has been working to implement RtI practices in the district classrooms.

If you have any questions or would like more information, please visit the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, RtI webpage or contact Tim Fosshage, Kimberly Area School District Director of Pupil Services, at 788-7900.