Steps to Get You Started: Inclusive Academic Instruction

Select and utilize reliable and valid universal screening assessments for reading and math to identify students who may need additional academic support.

Select reliable and valid progress monitoring tools that can be used to guide intervention decisions for reading and math supports.

Select appropriate assessments that you can use, when warranted, for more planning and providing intensive or specialized academic support needs.

Organize school teams to review screening and progress monitoring data. Include both your school’s grade level and specialized educators on these teams.

Build time into your school’s master calendar for teams to meet regularly.

Develop meeting processes for school teams to follow.

Create a process to analyze data at the school, grade, and individual student level.

Identify research-based core curriculum and materials available to your school.

Develop schoolwide guidelines for implementation of the core curriculum, including universal design for learning (UDL) and differentiated instruction frameworks.

Build into your master schedule sufficient time allocation for core instruction.

Identify research-based instructional practices your teachers and others may use to deliver your core curriculum content.

Use a fidelity tool for measuring implementation of universal academic supports in your school.

Create a matrix of research-based interventions that your school is able to provide in addition to the core curriculum.

Build into your master schedule times for providing targeted interventions to students who need additional support.

Specify when, how, and who will deliver these interventions.

Create recommendations for the frequency of interventions (e.g., daily, 3x per week) using evidence-based performance thresholds.

Create recommendations for the frequency of progress monitoring data collection (e.g., weekly, monthly).

Determine decision rules based on data, including rules about when interventions need to be initiated, changed, or discontinued.

Develop procedures for monitoring whether interventions are consistently implemented as intended.

Assemble a team to develop an individualized support plan based on academic and behavior data. This team needs to include the student and family, and may involve coordinated planning with other individuals and/or agencies.

Plan individualized supports that will enable meaningful engagement, accessibility, and progress in the general education curriculum.

Develop guidance to assist teams in understanding when to consider further evaluation. For example, when a team suspects a disability or need for mental health evaluation, more specialized assessments or service providers may be called in from outside the school.

Use a fidelity tool for measuring implementation of individual supports.