PURPOSES AND ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS West Virginia Department of Education

Focus on instructional and behavioral needs rather than disability categories Diminish burdens of labeling Contribute to the dialogue on early intervention, RTI and education of students with IEPs Establish and reinforce commonality of instructional needs of students Purposes of the AIRModel

ReadingMathPositive Behavior Support IEP continued services =7 LD EBD Mild MI OHIOI

Premises Students with disabilities can receive guaranteed services, the protections of IDEA, and appropriate instruction without a label. Labels often bias persons in a students life and may add an emotional burden Instruction should be based on student learning characteristics and needs, not disability labels The traditional language of special education, in and of itself, creates barriers to meeting the educational and social needs of students.

AIR Processes West Virginia Department of Education InstructionSelection Reporting AIR schools will use a model that does not assign a category of disability but selects students for instructional supports that continue beyond those described in Tier III, include the protections of IDEA, and are included on an IEP

IN AIR SCHOOLS THE RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION MODEL PROVIDES DATA FOR DECISION MAKING AS A FEW STUDENTS MAY BE CONSIDERED AND SELECTED FOR CONTINUED SERVICES THROUGH AN IEP Instruction

West Virginia Department of Education

Few Some All Universal Targeted Intensive Continued services for students with low response to intervention Three Tier Instruction Model

DATA ANALYSIS AND DECISION MAKING Selection

Students with profiles consistent with SLD, mild MI, E/BD, OHI, and OI will be selected by the Selection Committee for continued instructional supports following Tier III but will not have a designated label. They will have an IEP. Students with profiles consistent with other disability categories such as Autism, Hard of Hearing, TBI may continue to be assigned a disability category.

Instruction following selection for IEP Services West Virginia Department of Education Students academic needs will be met non- categorically. IEPs will not reference a disability. Areas requiring specially designed instruction will be identified by the IEP Team, and this instruction will be provided by special and general educators who have the knowledge and skills to meet the students needs. A student with an IEP is a student of the school first with a right to all the services the school offers students without IEPs.

Reporting

West Virginia Department of Education A summary of student characteristics and educational needs and documentation of decision will be completed by the Selection Committee and submitted to the county special education director. The county special education director will make a determination as to the category within which the student will be reported for federal purposes. As of May 2009, students being re-evaluated may continue to be designated as a student in need of IEP services but without a disability label.

West Virginia Department of Education Characteristics of continued services through an IEP often reflect those in the three tiers of instruction and intervention. They encompass also, however, the guarantees of, e.g., related services, accommodations, procedural safeguards, and parental notification and collaboration. Continued Services Through an IEP