Effective support at Tier 2 begins with the right information — and knowing how to act on it. This session focuses on the strategic use of universal screeners and behavioral health data as clinical decision-making tools, moving practitioners beyond routine administration toward meaningful interpretation and purposeful response.
Participants will examine how to select, administer, and interpret screeners appropriate to the student population and presenting concerns, with an emphasis on understanding what the data is — and is not — telling you. The session addresses common misreadings of screening results, including the risk of over-referral, under-referral, and misalignment between identified needs and available services.
A significant portion of the session is dedicated to the referral process itself: how to determine when a student's needs exceed what Tier 2 supports can address, which referral pathway is most appropriate given the clinical picture, and how to communicate findings clearly and compliantly to families, receiving providers, and interdisciplinary teams. Participants will also explore practical indicators — behavioral, academic, social-emotional, and physiological — that signal the need for more intensive evaluation or intervention, and learn how to document that clinical reasoning in a way that strengthens the referral and supports continuity of care.

Project Advance! Districts: Zapata County ISD, Edcouch-Elsa ISD, Rio Hondo ISD, Mercedes ISD, Roma ISD, South Texas ISD

Ascender - Student
Data Analysis
Student Growth
Student Services