General Education Teachers' Perceptions of the Prereferral Intervention Team Process

Little information is available about teachers' perceptions of the prereferral intervention team (PIT) process. This ethnographic study examined the perceptions of 12 kindergarten through fourth-grade teachers as they progressed through the PIT process in two western New York suburban elementary schools. Data from interviews and observations suggest that teachers disengaged from the process in response to team behaviors at three critical points. Teachers disengaged when the team (a) devalued or ignored teachers' input; (b) responded to referrals with limited, vague, or irrelevant interventions; or (c) exhibited little accountability or follow-up after PIT meetings. Teachers either withdrew actually by not referring other students or functionally by failing to engage in active problem solving, clarify recommendations enough to implement them, challenge unacceptable outcomes, or implement some or all of the recommendations. We present a hypothesized model of teacher engagement in the PIT process and discuss implications for practice and research.