​​​​​​​​Support Team Education Plan (STEP) Meeting and Documentation​

​​​​​​The Step Team

The STEP Team is a school team that consists of the parents/guardians, the classroom or homeroom teacher, the school administrator or STEP team coordinator, other school personnel as needed, and the student when appropriate. The STEP Team gathers information and data regarding the student from a variety of sources, including grade reports, standardized testing results, samples of class work, discipline records, questionnaires, interviews, psycho-educational reports, etc.

The STEP Team holds the meeting. The Team follows the Support Team Education Plan (STEP) Meeting Agenda (STEP Form 4)​ to determine student strengths; analyze gathered data; prioritize concerns about the student's progress; create strategies for classroom, school, and home; and generate an action plan. The action plan or Support Team Education Plan (STEP) process requires the Team to prioritize the identified support strategies, identify the person who will be responsible for implementing each strategy, and develop a timeline for implementation and evaluation. The Team must record the Support Team Education Plan (STEP) plan and schedule dates for follow-up meetings to monitor student progress and results.

Professionally Diagnosed Disabilities

If the parents/guardians provide information showing that the student has a professionally diagnosed disability* and request​​​ that the STEP Team include and consider that information in the STEP plan, the Team will fill out the Parental Consent box on page 3 of the Support Team Education Plan (STEP) plan​​ and identify related minor adjustments within the STEP plan. The parents/guardians must provide written consent for this disclosure in the space provided on the form. The Team must also provide the parents/guardians with a copy of the archdiocesan pamphlet Procedural Safeguards for Students with Disabilities and Their Parents or Guardians​.

*A professionally diagnosed disability will be evidenced by appropriate documentation from a medical doctor, a licensed or credentialed psychologist, or a public school Individualized Education Program (IEP) assessment. NOTE: If the Team determines that the student requires minor adjustments to participate in standardized testing, the administrator must review the exam publisher's directions to be sure that such adjustments do not invalidate the exam.

STEP Plan Progress Log

Each Team member should use the STEP Plan Progress Log (STEP Appendix Form C) to implement his or her part of the STEP plan strategies and/or minor adjustments and to monitor student progress and the effect of the various strategies or adjustments.

Review Meeting

The STEP Team reconvenes on the scheduled review meeting date. If the student has shown progress after implementation of the STEP plan, the Team continues the strategies as needed. If the student does not show progress within the timelines delineated within the STEP plan, the STEP Team makes adjustments to the plan.

Public School Assessment Request

If the student continues to struggle after implementation of the STEP plan and after adjustments to the plan have not met with success, the parents/guardians may wish to submit the Parent Request for Assessment from Public School (STEP Appendix Form D) to the local public school for special education assessment.
Public School Plans

A public school may generate documents such as an IEP or a Section 504 plan that reflect what the public school will do for the student if he or she goes to the public school.
A public school may generate an Individual Services Plan (ISP) to reflect what the public school will do for a student who remains in a private school.
While these documents can be helpful in gathering information about the student, they reflect what the public school promises to do for the student, and do not create a duty or require action by the private school.

Filing and Storing Documents

STEP documents are not a part of the student's Cumulative Pupil Records​ and are not transferable without parent/guardian written consent. The school must create a separate file for each student who has STEP documentation and retain these files in a secure location for a period of five (5) years following the student's graduation or departure from the school. See the "Section 504 (student inclusion)" entry in the Record Retention Schedule (sorted by category and ​record type).

Report Cards and Cumulative Records

As a general rule, a report card sent to parents/guardians should not contain information about a student's special needs or disability, including whether the student received minor adjustments or related services, as long as the report card informs parents/guardians about their child's progress or level of achievement in specific classes, course content, or curriculum. Transcripts or cumulative folders shall not contain information that identifies a student as having a disability because they are sent to third parties rather than parents/guardians. Consequently, no report cards from an elementary school should be sent to a high school to which a student is applying, if the elementary school includes information on any report card about a student's special needs or disability.

See the Advisory Dated December 12, 2008.​​​