§ 2902. Tiered system of supports and educational support team

(a) Within each school district‘s comprehensive system of educational services, each public school shall develop and maintain a tiered system of academic and behavioral supports for the purpose of providing all students with the opportunity to succeed or to be challenged in the general education environment. For each school it maintains, a school district board shall assign responsibility for developing and maintaining the tiered system of supports either to the superintendent pursuant to a contract entered into under section 267 of this title or to the school principal. The school shall provide all students a full and fair opportunity to access the system of supports and achieve educational success. The tiered system of supports shall, at a minimum, include an educational support team, instructional and behavioral interventions, and accommodations that are available as needed for any student who requires support beyond what can be provided in the general education classroom and may include intensive, individualized interventions for any student requiring a higher level of support.

(b) The tiered system of supports shall:

(1) be aligned as appropriate with the general education curriculum;

(2) be designed to enhance the ability of the general education system to meet the needs of all students;

(3) be designed to provide necessary supports promptly, regardless of an individual student’s eligibility for categorical programs;

(4) seek to identify and respond to students in need of support for emotional or behavioral challenges and to students in need of specialized, individualized behavior supports;

(5) provide all students with a continuum of evidence-based positive behavioral practices that promote social and emotional learning, including trauma-sensitive programming, that are both school-wide and focused on specific students or groups of students;

(6) promote collaboration with families, community supports, and the system of health and human services; and

(7) provide professional development, as needed, to support all staff in full implementation of the multi-tiered system of support.

(c) The educational support team for each public school in the district shall be composed of staff from a variety of teaching and support positions and shall:

(1) Determine which enrolled students require additional assistance to be successful in school or to complete secondary school based on indicators set forth in guidelines developed by the Secretary, such as academic progress, attendance, behavior, or poverty. The educational support team shall pay particular attention to students during times of academic or personal transition.

(2) Identify the classroom accommodations, remedial services, and other supports to be provided to the identified student.

(3) Assist teachers to plan for and provide services and accommodations to students in need of classroom supports or enrichment activities.

(4) Develop an individualized strategy, in collaboration with the student’s parents or legal guardian whenever possible, to assist the identified student to succeed in school and to complete his or her secondary education.

(5) Maintain a written record of its actions.

(6) [Repealed.]

(d) No individual entitlement or private right of action is created by this section.

(e) The Secretary shall establish guidelines for teachers and administrators in following federal laws relating to provision of services for children with disabilities and the implementation of this section. The Secretary shall develop and provide to supervisory unions information to share with parents of children suspected of having a disability that describes the differences between the tiered system of academic and behavioral supports required under this section, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. chapter 33, including how and when school staff and parents of children having a suspected disability may request interventions and services under those entitlements.

(f) It is the intent of the General Assembly that a gifted and talented student shall be able to take advantage of services that an educational support team can provide. It is not the intent of the General Assembly that funding under chapter 101 of this title shall be available for a gifted and talented student unless the student has been otherwise determined to be a student for whom funding under that chapter is available.

(g) The tiered system of academic and behavioral supports required under this section shall not be used by a school district to deny a timely initial comprehensive special education evaluation for children suspected of having a disability. The Agency of Education shall adopt policies and procedures to ensure that a school district’s evaluation of a child suspected of having a disability is not denied because of implementation of the tiered system of academic and behavioral supports. The policies and procedures shall include:

(1) the definition of what level of progress is sufficient for a child to stop receiving instructional services and supports through the tiered system of academic and behavioral supports;

(2) guidance on how long children are to be served in each tier; and

(3) guidance on how a child’s progress is to be measured. (Added 1989, No. 230 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; amended 1995, No. 157 (Adj. Sess.), § 9; 1997, No. 87 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1999, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § 10; 1999, No. 117 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 2009, No. 44, § 40, eff. May 21, 2009; 2013, No. 92 (Adj. Sess.), § 192, eff. Feb. 14, 2014; 2015, No. 48, § 5; 2017, No. 173 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, eff. May 25, 2018.)