High-Intensity Needs

Nationwide, leaders and educators are grappling with the complex, multifaceted academic and behavioral needs of students with disabilities (SWDs). Despite a shared commitment to their success, many schools face persistent challenges in creating environments where these students can truly learn and thrive. Common barriers include a lack of educator capacity to collect and use data to individualize and intensify supports; educator shortages that hinder the delivery of IEP service delivery; and gaps in cohesive, aligned instruction due to limited collaboration time between general and special educators. Compounding these issues is the absence of a robust professional learning system that provides scaffolded and sustained training in specially designed instruction (SDI). Critically, many schools also fall short in ensuring that SWDs have access to the most intensive interventions and supports available within the school. Too often, these students are placed on parallel or less rigorous tracks that exist outside the schoolwide continuum of support (e.g., multi-tiered system of supports), undermining their right to individualized, high-quality instruction and limiting their opportunities for meaningful progress.

School leaders must take an active role in dismantling these systemic barriers and ensuring that all students—particularly those with the most significant needs—are fully included in the school’s instructional and behavioral support systems. Effective principals prioritize systems and cultures that support student well-being and behavioral needs, effective instruction in the general education setting, and strong SDI aligned with individual students’ IEP needs. Additionally, effective principals foster strong, trusting relationships among teachers, students, and families to build a supportive and collaborative school community. When these foundational elements are established and aligned, SWDs are better equipped to access the general curriculum, engage meaningfully in school, and make progress toward their IEP goals. Addressing these priorities is essential to closing achievement gaps and supporting SWDs.