Heartland Area Education Agency's Problem Solving Model: An Outcomes-Driven Special Education Paradigm

Level One-Consultation Between Teachers and Parents. At this level, problem solving involves consultation between a classroom teacher and student's parents. Informal discussions between teachers and parents are held regarding a behavior of concern (academic or behavioral) and some type of intervention is documented. The student's teacher and parents informally monitor the student's progress. A follow-up conference is held to determine the effectiveness of the intervention and the possible need for further resources. This less formal stage of assistance requires a low level of resources.

Level Two-Consultation with Other Resources. Level Two involves consultation with other resource personnel, in most cases a school's building assistance team (BAT) members. The BAT consists of teachers who work together to support other teachers and to assist students. Heartland provides extensive training for the BAT to help them define student problems, put effective interventions into place, and conduct ongoing monitoring to determine the efficacy of interventions. Some form of written plan is often put in place to document these efforts.

Level Three-Consultation with the Extended Problem-Solving Team. If a student's problem(s) persist, even with the assistance of additional resources, the level of rigor in the design of the intervention increases and additional personnel may be added to the problem solving team. Heartland personnel are part of the extended problem-solving team. In order to ensure equitable service delivery, all schools within the Heartland area are assigned a team made up of AEA staff who visit schools one to several times per week depending on caseload and other factors. The team typically includes a school psychologist, an educational consultant, school social worker, and speech/language pathologist. Heartland staff work with local school personnel to help students along the problem-solving approach continuum. Other ad hoc members may include additional Heartland personnel such as physical therapists, occupational therapists, autism specialists, challenging behavior specialists, and assistive technology specialists.

One of the key components at Level III is a systematic analysis of the presenting problem by AEA personnel. Quite often, there is a need for functional assessment information to be collected at this level to determine the intervention that will best match the cause of the problem. A formalized intervention plan is written that includes the components of problem solving as required by the Iowa Administrative Rules of Special Education (Iowa Department of Education, 2000). These components include measurable and goal-directed attempts to solve the presenting problem and collection of data related to the identified problem. Systematic progress monitoring is a key component at this level with data relative to instructional effectiveness being used to develop interventions.

Level Four-Consideration of Entitlement for Special Education. If the data collected throughout problem solving indicate a need for specialized services delivered by special education personnel, parental consent is required to use the information gathered during the problem solving process in determining entitlement for special education services. Additional assessment information may need to be conducted at this time. If it is determined that the student is eligible and in need of special education services, an intervention is written and becomes the student's Individualized Education Plan (IEP).