Levels of Support
Continuum
Matching Service to Need in the IEP
Spring Branch ISD
Special Education Department
2013-2014
Indirect Support
Indirect services involve external support and consultation to general
education teachers who work directly with students with special needs. The
Special Education teacher does not work with the students, but with the teachers
who provide the direct instruction and accommodations.
Indirect Support Looks Like
 General Education teacher has primary responsibility for instruction and
implementation of IEP directed accommodations
 Special Ed teacher consults/collaborates/plans/problem solves with general
education teacher when necessary to provide resources, materials,
suggestions for accommodations and/or strategies
IEP Documentation
 Accommodations, supplementary aids and services
 Goals may not be necessary for the student in the subject area requiring
indirect support**
 Requires a Service Log documenting frequency and type of support
provided on behalf of the student
 Noted on accommodation page(s) as “Support for General Education
teacher”
 Written discussion of supports needed for school personnel in the
deliberations
**If the student’s educational needs can be met with this level of service in ALL
subject areas, special education eligibility needs to be reviewed.
With INSTRUCTIONAL CHANGES: LOW
This level of support involves the General Education teacher implementing
accommodations with intermittent or limited direct support provided to the
student by Special Education staff (Teacher or Paraprofessional). In addition,
service delivery may include indirect support. This service delivery model is
intended for students that require functional (non-TEKS) skill support to access
the general education curriculum.
Low Intensity Support Looks Like
 General Education teacher has primary responsibility for instruction and
implementation of IEP directed accommodations
 Planning and/or on-going communication between special education
teacher and general education teacher is evident
 One Teach/One Assist is the prevailing instructional arrangement for inclass support
 Direct support from special education staff addresses specific functional
and/or academic access goals of the student- examples include technology
training, supplemental aid instruction, study skills, behavior skills,
organizational skills.
IEP Documentation
 Accommodations and measurable goal(s)
 At least one goal targeting functional skill(s) needed to access the
curriculum (Not TEKS based)
 Generally, needs can be met with 30 minutes to 2 hours per week of In
Class Support.
 Requires a Service Log documenting frequency and type of support
provided on behalf of the student
Sort of Like - Medium
This level of support involves the General Education teacher implementing
accommodations and goal instruction with daily direct support provided to the
student by Special Education staff (Teacher or Paraprofessional). In addition,
service delivery may include indirect support. This service delivery model is
intended for students who have academic and/or functional goals that require
supplemental direct instruction to access the general education curriculum.
Medium Intensity Support Looks Like:
 General Education teacher has primary responsibility for instruction and
implementation of IEP directed accommodations
 General Education teacher and Special Education teacher share
responsibility for providing instruction that leads to progress on goals
 Regular planning and/or on-going communication between special
education teacher and general education teacher is evident
 Direct support from special education staff addresses specific functional
and/or academic goals of the student- examples include reading
instruction, technology training, supplemental aid instruction, study skills,
behavior skills, social skills, organizational skills.
 Regular use of supplemental aids, study guides, skeleton notes, etc.
 Use of co teach approaches is evident
 Accommodations are observable
IEP Documentation
 Accommodations and measurable goals
 Functional and/or academic goals describe specially designed instruction
that is required for academic/behavioral support
 Students requiring this level of support typically have multiple needs
identified in the PLAAFP and would have multiple goals in the subject area
to address the needs
 Generally, needs can be met with 40% to 60% of the class time or period of
In Class Support
 Requires a Service Log documenting frequency and type of support
provided on behalf of the student
Some: HIGH
This level of support involves the General Education teacher and the Special
Education teacher jointly planning and delivering instruction, including
accommodations and modifications, with daily direct support from the Special
Education Teacher, provided in the general education classroom for the majority
of the class period. This service delivery model is intended for students that
require extensive modification to achievement standards and/or behavioral
expectations. Based on multiple measures of objective and valid data over time,
the ARD Committee must be reasonably certain the student is not likely to reach
grade-level proficiency within the year covered by his or her IEP.
High Intensity support Looks Like:
 General Education and Special Education have joint responsibility for
instruction
 Consistent regular on-going planning between general education teacher
and special education teacher is evident
 Regular use of co teach approaches with emphasis small group
arrangements
 Direct support from special education staff addresses specific academic
goals of students that include changes to the performance standards,
prioritized student expectations, altered instructional activities,
assignments, materials, assessments, as well as include extensive
accommodations
 Behavioral and/or functional needs are addressed if indicated by IEP
IEP Documentation
 Extensive accommodations and modifications
 Goals identified describe how the standards are modified for
academic/behavioral instruction
 Students requiring this level of support have extensive needs identified in
the PLAAFP which result in a significant number of goals for the subject
area
 Generally, needs require 60% to 100% of class time or period with In Class
Support or Co Teach Support
 May require a Service Log documenting frequency and type of support
provided on behalf of the student
Something Different: Specialized
Specialized support requires Special Education teachers to provide direct,
intensive instruction, support and modifications to students outside of the
general education classroom for IEP skill development. This service delivery
model is intended for student needs that are high in intensity, are academic,
behavioral or medical in nature and require significant modification of
performance standards, content or behavioral expectations. High intensity
needs are such that:
 Placement in a general education classroom prohibits the student from
achieving the goals and/or objectives contained in the IEP even though
supplementary aids and services are used.
 Implementing the goals and objectives in the general education classroom
would eliminate essential components of the general education curriculum
and/or significantly disrupt the general education teacher’s ability to
provide instruction and/or maintain routines.
 Implementing the student’s behavior intervention plan means that other
students would not benefit from academic instruction or nonacademic
activities.
Specialized Support Service Looks Like:
 Special Education teacher has primary responsibility for instruction
 The Special Education Teacher and the General Education Teacher routinely
communicate with one another and coordinate efforts to align the work in
the specialized support classroom with the work in the general education
classroom
 Direct, intensive targeted academic instruction Resource Classroom Critical
Elements
 Highly structured, highly supervised social skills instruction and behavior
management AIM Classroom Critical Elements AB Classroom Critical
Elements
 Developmentally appropriate program for ages 3-5 addressing significant
cognitive, communication, social, motor or self help deficits PPCD
Classroom Critical Elements
 Supervised, contained classroom which emphasizes a limited sample of
substantially simplified content and development of adaptive behavior
LifeskillsAPPLE Critical Elements
 Emphasis is on providing instruction that accelerates achievement and is
designed to enable return to the general education classroom or to reduce
the time spent in the separate setting
 Whole group instruction occurs only when the instruction delivered in this
format allows for each and every student to participate
IEP Documentation
 Measurable academic and functional goals as well as a behavior
intervention plan, if appropriate
 Goals are required for every subject area where a student is pulled from a
general education setting (may or may not include modifications)
 Per Least Restrictive Environment Consideration–Full class time/period to
full day special education setting.
Support Considerations for Access to the General Curriculum
Curriculum Focus
Instructional Examples
Grade-level TEKS
• TEKS instruction with or without
classroom accommodations as
determined for student success
• Student is responsible for all
Objectives and Student
Expectations
for each subject
• Provide tools for study skills, behavior
regulation, organization
• Provide additional notes, taped lectures, taped
textbooks, manipulative materials, or other
assistive technology to help access information
• Provide extra time to complete
assignments
• Format pages to help with clarity and
visual organization
• Reading support
• Shorten the length of classroom tests
• Provide opportunities for a student to
demonstrate knowledge and understanding of
information by using methods that emphasize the
student’s strengths
• Provide access to technology,
manipulatives, and resources that facilitate
the demonstration of knowledge and
understanding of the information
• Simplify directions and reduce complexity of
assignments
• Provide student with a smaller
teacher-student ratio during instruction
• Reduce the complexity of vocabulary and
sentence structure
• Delete extraneous information on
assignments
Grade-level TEKS - Modified
• TEKS instruction using
accommodations and
modifications
that allow access to the gradelevel
state-mandated curriculum
• Student is provided with
instruction
and modifications that address
his/her individual learning style
and needs
• Student is responsible for all
objectives for that subject
• Complexity of Student
Expectations is simplified**
**Goals should identify most
critical TEKS Objectives for the
purpose of measuring progress
over a one year period and should
describe how the standards are
modified
Grade-level TEKS - Alternate
• TEKS instruction simplified to
focus on reduced number of
academic skills while addressing
both real-life application of skills
and the student’s needs
• Find areas within the TEKS for the
student to access using methods that
emphasize the student’s strengths
• Provide the student with adult support as
needed to access environments and
activities
• Find real-life applications of
assignments to maximize generalization
of skills
• Provide varying levels of cueing and
prompting to ease the student toward
independence
• Use technology and communication
devices that provide student with effective
methods of response
Support Considerations
based on Needs in PLAAFP
Indirect – support for the
general education staff
Low –functional skill needs
Medium – supplemental
instructional needs
High – Modifications and
supplemental instructional needs
Specialized - Modifications and
supplemental instructional needs
only when goals and /or
objectives can’t be achieved in
the general setting
Specialized Support
Specialized support programs may be determined appropriate for needs that are not academic in nature i.e.
structured behavior management. For additional clarification on support considerations see Levels of Support
Continuum.