Toolkit
Supporting Students with High-Intensity Needs
These strategies highlight research and best practices, along with short-, medium-, and long-term solutions, as essential for supporting the complex academic and behavioral needs of students with disabilities.
Strategy A
Create a learning environment that supports the well-being and behavioral needs of students of disabilities.
Strategy B
Support educator capacity to design and deliver general education and specially designed instruction tailored to students’ academic and functional needs.
School Story
Principal Carter: Student Challenges
Learn from Principal Carter as she ensures students with disabilities receive services as outlined in their IEPs by supporting teachers in connecting functional skills with academic growth.
Strategy A
Create a learning environment that supports the well-being and behavioral needs of students of disabilities.
Deepen My Knowledge: Enhance your understanding of the behavioral and emotional needs of students with disabilities (SWDs) and related Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requirements.
Possible Actions
- Participate in workshops, courses, or coaching sessions that explore how various disabilities affect behavior and emotional regulation and how schools can respond with supportive, proactive strategies, including topics like trauma-informed and restorative approaches, de-escalation techniques, behavior modification, and social learning.
- Schedule regular collaborative meetings with your special education director to discuss students’ needs, service delivery models, and compliance with special education laws.
- Gain a comprehensive understanding of IDEA requirements for:
- conducting a functional behavioral assessment (FBA),
- developing and implementing a behavior intervention plan (BIP),
- holding a manifestation determination review for SWDs,
- changing educational placement, accordingly.
- Collaborate with the special education director and school psychologist to analyze behavior, discipline, FBA/BIP, and mental health referral data for SWDs to identify patterns, reflect on potential systemic barriers, and guide adjustments to schoolwide practices.
- Consult with the special education director, school psychologists, behavior specialists, and special education teachers to increase your understanding of how behavioral support is developed, implemented, and adjusted for individual students.
Support My Staff: Plan intentional supports that strengthen staff capacity to promote the well-being of SWDs across all learning environments.
Possible Actions
- Observe classrooms and engage with teachers to understand student behavioral needs and current management strategies and to identify opportunities for additional support.
- Offer ongoing, role-specific professional learning and coaching for all teachers on evidence-based strategies for managing challenging behaviors, including Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and FBAs.
- Coordinate with special education leadership to provide training for staff focused on trauma-informed practices and de-escalation strategies to support SWDs.
- Organize workshops for educators to build their capacity to support families and offer practical strategies for addressing students’ behavioral needs at home.
- Collaborate with instructional coaches or district special education staff to offer training on data-based individualization (DBI) and build the capacity of interventionist and special education teachers to implement DBI.
Resources
Teaching Social Behaviors: What Teachers Need to Know
Classroom Management Strategies to Support All Learners
Student Social-Emotional Well-Being: The Role of Administrators and State Education Agencies
Strategies for De‑escalating Student Behavior in the Classroom
Why Administrators Should Support Data-Based Individualization
Influence Systems: Reinforce and integrate schoolwide systems that deliver consistent, responsive support for SWDs with ongoing behavioral needs, embedding these systems into daily routines, school culture, and accountability practices.
Possible Actions
- Collaborate with your special education director to develop and communicate a unified vision of high expectations and a sense of belonging for SWDs.
- Emphasize and reinforce a schoolwide belief that all staff members are accountable for student well-being and behavioral development, prioritizing supportive interventions over punitive measures.
- Establish a clear framework for behavior support (e.g., MTSS, PBIS) that includes well-defined expectations (e.g., behaviors that are observable, measurable, and positively stated) and procedures (e.g., teaching expected behaviors, monitoring and acknowledging positive behaviors, providing consistent consequences).
- Create a collaborative environment where general and special educators, school psychologists, and behavior specialists meet regularly to discuss student progress, share insights, and adjust strategies, as necessary.
- Ensure that all classroom environments proactively address and support both internalizing and externalizing behavioral needs.
- Hold regular meetings to review behavioral data for SWDs who have BIPs to identify disproportionality or inequitable outcomes and take concrete steps to revise practices accordingly.
- Create a system to support students’ use of a sensory-friendly space by designating a quiet area or sensory room where students can self-regulate when they feel overwhelmed.
Resources
Guidance for District Leadership on Multi-Tiered System of Supports
Social-Emotional Well-Being of Students with Disabilities: The Importance of Student Support Staff
Putting it All Together: A Case Study in School Discipline
Ten Ways Schools Can Foster Belonging Among Students With and Without Disabilities
Strategies for Setting Data-Driven Behavioral Individualized Education Program Goals
Strategy B
Support educator capacity to design and deliver general education and specially designed instruction tailored to students’ academic and functional needs.
Deepen My Knowledge: Understand your role, and those of others, on the IEP team and deepen your knowledge of special education service design and delivery.
Possible Actions
- Deepen your understanding of required IEP components under IDEA and how they work together to support access and progress of SWDs in general education.
- Hold regular meetings with special education coordinators, case managers, or district specialists to clarify IDEA requirements, ask focused questions, and explore how well-aligned IEPs influence instruction across settings.
- Collaborate with other school leaders through a professional learning community or network to share leadership strategies that align IEP development with instruction and build educator capacity.
- Deepen understanding of how data-based individualization (DBI) can provide a process for individualizing and intensifying SDI based on data and how to lead its implementation through effective use of progress monitoring, diagnostic assessments, and data-driven instructional adjustments.
- Build knowledge of inclusive instructional practices on Universal Design for Learning (UDL), differentiated instruction, and evidence-based strategies that support access to the general curriculum for all learners, high-leverage practices such as explicit instruction, scaffolding, and feedback to support SWDs across settings.
Resources
The What and Why of the Statement of Services and Aids
The IEP Team: Who's Who and Other Considerations
IEPs: How Administrators Can Support the Development and Implementation of High-Quality IEPs
Video Series: Stories from the Classroom: Leveraging Relationships to Promote High Expectations
High Leverage Practice Leadership Guides
Why Administrators Should Support Data-Based Individualization
Support My Staff: Strengthen educator capacity to develop, implement, and evaluate SDI and supplementary aids and services that SWDs need to access and progress in the general curriculum.
Possible Actions
- Regularly observe classrooms, alone or with the special education director, to gather insight on whether instruction addresses individual students’ IEP services and aids and provide actionable feedback that supports students’ academic and functional needs.
- Schedule joint professional learning sessions for general and special education staff, and ensure that general educators review each student’s IEP with the special educator to understand their role in implementing it.
- Provide structured time for general and special educators to co-plan lessons that integrate SDI for SWDs.
- Train staff on Universal Design for Learning (UDL), differentiated instruction, and evidence-based practices that support access to the general curriculum for all learners while encouraging and monitoring the use of high-leverage practices—such as explicit instruction, scaffolding, and feedback—that benefit SWDs across instructional settings.
- Coordinate professional development focused on the DBI process, for intervention and special education staff, including how to collect, analyze, and use data to adjust instruction and ensure alignment with IEP goals and services.
- Provide access to instructional materials, instructional technologies, and other tools necessary to support individualized and intensive instruction.
Influence Systems: Create a comprehensive and supportive educational environment that ensures the academic and functional needs of SWDs are met through structured collaboration, effective use of data, and high-quality instruction and services.
Possible Actions
- Communicate and reinforce that general education classrooms are the primary setting for SWDs, and that all educators are responsible for implementing supplementary aids and services and supports outlined in IEPs.
- Partner with the special education director to develop a consistent process for tracking whether instructional supports and services outlined in IEPs are being delivered with fidelity, and support teachers’ use of progress monitoring data to inform instructional decisions and interventions.
- Structure schedules and staffing to maximize in-class support by special educators and related service providers, ensuring that SWDs can access core instruction without unnecessary removal from general education settings.
- Collaborate with special education leaders and staff to analyze student placement trends, Least Restrictive Environment data, and service logs to identify patterns and address systemic barriers to ensure access and progress in the general education setting.
- Build a culture of shared responsibility to foster a schoolwide commitment to high expectations for SWDs.
Strategy C
Build strong, supportive relationships between teachers, students, and families.
Deepen My Knowledge: Recognize that strong relational communication, grounded in an honest assessment of school culture, builds trust and strengthens academic and behavioral support for students.
Possible Actions
- Conduct a school culture audit using surveys, focus groups, and informal conversations to gather honest feedback from staff, students, and families about communication, trust, and collaboration.
- Analyze patterns in communication and engagement by reviewing how information flows between school leadership, teachers, students, and families to identify gaps or inconsistencies.
- Connect school climate data with academic and behavioral outcomes to show how trust and communication influence student success.
- Engage teachers, students, and families through judgment-free listening sessions, surveys, and informal check-ins to better understand their experiences, concerns, and barriers to engagement; gather feedback; and clearly communicate how input influences outcomes.
- Increase understanding of the legal obligations of school leaders who participate in the IEP development and implementation process.
- Attend professional learning events to gain strategies for improving effective communication and relationship building with families and educators.
Support My Staff: Strengthen staff capacity to build collaborative individualized education program (IEP) teams who share understanding of each student’s needs and deliver aligned academic and behavioral supports across home and school.
Possible Actions
- Organize joint professional learning sessions for educators and families focused on IEP implementation, student-centered planning, and shared strategies for academic and behavioral support.
- Actively participate in family/teacher meetings to model effective ways to establish trust, listen actively, and co-create solutions (e.g., sample telephone scripts/practice opportunities to support staff in communicating with families).
- Provide resources and tools to families and students focused on increasing meaningful participation in the IEP development process.
- Support educators in the development of home–school behavior plans to support consistent behavior or learning support strategies across settings.
- Prioritize professional development that helps teachers build strong relationships with students and families through effective communication and collaboration strategies.
- Create regular opportunities for dialogue among teachers to surface academic and behavioral concerns early, allowing for timely interventions.
- Support teams in regularly reviewing whether IEP services are being delivered as planned and making adjustments as necessary.
Influence Systems: Create structures that foster trust among teachers, students, and families, embedding collaboration and shared ownership within the school’s culture and core values to ensure that students’ academic and behavioral needs are effectively understood and met.
Possible Actions
- Communicate regularly with families—through newsletters, conferences, and digital platforms—to provide transparent updates on student IEP goals and progress, and ways to support learning at home.
- Foster a culture where teachers regularly share positive feedback with families and students about the accomplishments and progress of SWDs.
- Organize a parent advisory group or adjust a current group to give families of SWDs a voice in shaping school policies and initiatives.
- Involve all stakeholders in defining academic and behavioral priorities to create a sense of collective purpose.
- Embed family engagement and student support into the school’s vision, policies, and professional development plans.
- Use data to continuously assess the effectiveness of engagement strategies for families of SWDs and adapt those strategies based on feedback.
- Develop an online or physical family resource hub where families can access special education resources, support groups, and community services.
- Celebrate the efforts and achievements of staff, students, and families to build a culture of appreciation and belonging.
- Foster a safe environment where students and families feel seen, increasing engagement in support planning.
- Ensure that communication and trust building are embedded in multi-tiered system of supports, IEP processes, and behavior intervention planning.
Solutions in Action
Promoting Shared Ownership and Collaboration
Lonice Priester, Principal, Fairmont Heights High School
In this video, learn how a high school principal intentionally designs schedules to promote a school culture where educators collaboratively design and implement supports for students with high-intensity needs during the school day.
Related IDEA Considerations
Students with disabilities often have intensive and intersecting needs, requiring educators to be knowledgeable and responsive to help them engage with the general curriculum. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) ensures eligible students with disabilities have the right to a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) as outlined in Sec. 300.101. Public agencies must ensure children with disabilities are educated with their nondisabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate and in the least restrictive environment (Sec. 300.114). IDEA allows for a continuum of special education placements. Special classes or separate schooling should only occur if the disability's nature or severity prevents satisfactory education in regular classes, even with supplementary aids and services.
To the maximum extent appropriate, school districts must educate students with disabilities in general education classrooms with appropriate aids and supports, referred to as "supplementary aids and services" (Sec. 300.114). The IEP team, which must include at least one general education teacher of the child (Sec. 300.321(a)(2)), determines the appropriate supplementary aids and services based on the child's unique needs. These supports can include assistive technology devices, instructional supports, behavior intervention plans, and accommodations. IDEA also calls for "specially designed instruction," which involves adapting instruction to meet the needs of the student (300.321 (a) (4) (i)). This ensures students with disabilities can access the curriculum and achieve their educational goals.
For students with behavioral needs, IDEA outlines requirements to ensure they receive necessary supports. The IEP team must consider the student's behavioral needs and include appropriate positive behavioral interventions and supports in the IEP (Sec. 300.324(a)). Schools must implement these interventions to address challenging behaviors and promote positive behavior. Functional Behavioral Assessments (FBA) and Behavior Intervention Plans (BIP) are used to identify the causes of challenging behaviors and develop strategies to address them (Sec. 300.530(f)(1)(i)). When a student with a disability exhibits behavior leading to disciplinary action, a manifestation determination review (MDR) must be conducted to determine if the behavior was a manifestation of the student's disability (Sec. 300.530(f)). These requirements ensure schools address the underlying causes of behavioral issues and provide appropriate supports.
Two Supreme Court decisions have significantly influenced how specially designed instruction and supplemental aids and services are provided to students with disabilities under IDEA. In Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District RE-1, the Court in 2017 clarified an IEP must be "reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child's circumstances," emphasizing the need for tailored instruction. The Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley case in 1982 established an IEP must be "reasonably calculated to enable the child to receive educational benefits," highlighting the importance of supplementary aids and services.
Several circuit court decisions have elaborated on the relationship between IDEA and instruction, although these decisions only hold precedence in their respective jurisdictions. Oberti v. Board of Education of the Borough of Clementon School District (1992) adopted a two-part test for assessing compliance with IDEA’s Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) requirement, focusing on whether education in the general education classroom, with supplementary aids and services, can be achieved satisfactorily. Additionally, T.K. v. New York City Department of Education (2016) underscored the necessity of providing services as directed by the IEP to prevent academic or behavioral regression. These cases collectively ensure students with disabilities receive appropriate and effective educational support tailored to their unique needs.
Another way of making placement decisions is the Roncker Portability Test, originating from Roncker v. Walter (1983). This offers an important framework for evaluating whether a separate setting is truly necessary to provide FAPE. The test asks whether the services that make a separate placement superior could be feasibly provided in a general education setting. If so, placement in the more restrictive environment would violate the LRE requirement. Courts have frequently cited the Roncker test to reinforce the principle the setting should not drive the services—instead, services should be portable to the least restrictive setting whenever possible.