Intervention and Referral Services ("I&RS")

The Intervention and Referral Services ("I&RS") process centers around a committee of certified educators who regularly meet to discuss students who are demonstrating some type of difficulty in the classroom.  The nature of the student's issues could involve academic problems, behavior issues and/or social/emotional challenges.  The intent of this program is to review students' needs within a multidisciplinary group and develop a written plan of intervention strategies to address these needs within the student's typical classroom setting.  The plan is periodically reviewed at subsequent meetings to determine if progress has been made or whether the plan must be modified.  The committee also determines whether the degree of progress and/or nature of the student's needs is such that a referral to other relevant entities is necessary for further intervention.  For example, students might be referred to the Basic Skills program; or a request for evaluation by the Child Study Team might be submitted; or the committee might suggest that the parent pursue additional mental health services outside of school.

Each school building within the Hanover Township Public Schools has its own I&RS Committee which is coordinated by an assigned staff member from that building. The guidance counselor and/or building principal are typically the primary contacts for making a referral to review a student.