The Formal Periodic Review for Sending LEAs

When your district places a student in AEDY, you may be asked to participate in the Formal Periodic Review or FPR process. Here's what you need to know.

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The FPR serves as a roadmap, informed by the reasons for placement, comprehensive assessments, and supporting documentation from you, the LEA. The FPR is an evolving document that follows the student during their entire placement in AEDY. It serves as a communication device between all stakeholders as well as a record of all of the efforts to help the student while in AEDY.

While the program frequently carries the responsibility for completing the FPR document, the LEA is still responsible for all aspects of a student’s education while attending an AEDY program and therefore should be an active participant and contributor throughout a student’s time in AEDY.

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There are three types of FPRs, based on the time when they are conducted. All three are completed on the same form, only the information provided changes.

Initial reviews, which must be completed within the first 5 days of placement, are crucial to set the expectations for both the student and staff. Within 5 days of placement in AEDY, a document must be created that demonstrates the completion of a behavior assessment as well as at least one behavior goal that is individualized, measurable, and related to the reason for referral. The goal or goals written will be used to determine when a student is able to exit AEDY and return to the LEA.

Conducted at least every 45 school days for students while in placement, the 45-Day FPR provides a checkpoint on the student’s progress and the success of the interventions implemented by the program. This is a time for the team to gather and review how the student is doing, whether they are meeting their goals, and if the current plan needs adjustment. Most students will have only one 45-day review as the goal is for the placement to be temporary and for the student to meet their goal(s) and return to the sending school within the first 45 days.

When students meet their behavior goals or complete their expulsion period, the team will develop the last section of the FPR document, which involves creating a plan for the student to return to their home school. This is known as an Exit/Transition FPR and can occur at any time during a student’s time in AEDY. This meeting is typically combined with the 45-day FPR when it’s determined that the student has met their required behavior goal.

Regardless of the type of FPR you are completing, the student, their parents or guardians, and representatives from both the LEA and AEDY program must participate in the drafting of this document. Other relevant stakeholders such as special education, regular education, and English Language teachers, as well as counselors and others can participate based on the individual needs of the student.

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So, what makes up an effective FPR? Let's break it down. On the first page, you will find the “Identifying Information” section. This demographic information clearly defines the child's individual information and provides another opportunity to ensure everything is in order. Students, parents, and most staff do not have access to the referrals in Leader Services, but they ALL should have a copy of or access to the FPR.

Within five days of placement and prior to the drafting of the behavior goals, the AEDY program must conduct assessments of each student's behavioral needs. Given the abbreviated timeframe to complete the assessments, many Sending LEAs are actively involved in distributing and/or completing the assessments as part of the referral process. This is just one example of the importance of collaboration between the LEA and the program in order to support the students.

As a Sending LEA, you will want to work with your AEDY providers to ensure that the assessment is providing relevant information within the regulatory timeframes. The information from the behavior assessment will play a key role in establishing meaningful behavior goals. Sending LEAs can and should provide any recent academic assessments to the program to identify areas of strength or need for the student. This will be included in the Academic Review section.

The Last Review section tracks the dates of previous reviews and asks the team to reflect on and summarize the students time in the program. This could include student behavior changes, modifications or additions to the interventions, or other important information to help the team develop a successful plan. This is also an area to note attendance or academic concerns from earlier reviews.

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“Current Interventions” is a place to list the things the program will do to make positive behavior more likely or to make disruptive behaviors less likely. Tier 1 supports will be the same for every student as they are provided to ALL. Tier 2 and Tier 3 will begin to feature differentiated interventions for each student and may appear as small group or individualized supports based on student need.

As the FPR is a living document, the items listed here may change during a student’s placement. It’s important that this section reflects the specific strategies or approaches that work for an individual student, not just a general list of items a program could or does offer. This individualized information will assist in a more successful placement and exit.

Under “Behavior of Concern”, list the exact behavior that occurred to result in the referral to AEDY. It's important to remember that not all parties have access to the documents in Leader Services. By including this information in the FPR you can ensure that all parties are working with the same information. It also provides an opportunity to clear up any uncertainty or misunderstanding before proceeding.

In the next section, the team will work together to create a behavior goal used to determine when a student will exit the AEDY program and return to the Sending LEA. The FPR team MUST base the goals off the behavior of concern, the results of the behavioral assessment, and other data.

The Sending LEA takes an active role in the crafting of the goals as they have an extensive knowledge of the student’s behavioral and academic needs and the expectations of the setting that the student will return to. The goal or goals must be individualized, meaning they are unique for the specific student as well as measurable.

Clearly mark which goals are required- those goals that the student MUST meet to exit the program and return to general education. Each student is required to have at least one goal that sets exit criteria. Not all students will require multiple goals to exit the program.

Additionally, many programs find it helpful for all parties to create goals related to academics and/or social emotional needs. These can be included in the FPR but may not factor in the student's remaining in placement.

Programs must be able to show the documentation of progress or lack of progress toward the goal to make decisions for the student. In all Formal Periodic Reviews after the Initial FPR, the program should provide clear, numerical data on the progress or lack there of towards the student’s goal or goals. This is provided in the column labeled “Progress/Data Towards Goal(s)” and will be used to determine if the student met the goal. It is helpful to include a summary statement explaining the data as well. After reviewing the data, remember to indicate whether the child met the goal or not.

There are two circumstances where the revised goal section should be filled out. First, if a student is expelled and they met their behavior goals. A new goal should be created to continue to improve the student's skills while in AEDY. Importantly, new goals may not be created to keep a student past their expulsion date. The second is when students did not meet their behavior goal and, after time, the team feels the goal is not appropriate and needs revision for student success.

The Academic Review section is to document attendance, grades, and overall academic performance. Attendance concerns require regular communication and collaboration with Sending LEAs. For students with significant attendance issues, the AEDY program will contact the Sending LEA and the LEA will take the lead on developing an intervention plan such as a Student Attendance Improvement Plan (SAIP) or a Truancy Elimination Plan (TEP), utilizing the structures and resources already in place within the LEA in collaboration with the AEDY program.

During the initial FPR, the Sending LEA will share the results of any recently completed (within a year) academic assessments with the team to assist in educational planning. Identifying areas of needs in academics can further ensure success in AEDY and beyond and should be part of the interventions and supports students receive while in AEDY.  

It is also the responsibility of the LEA to ensure that the courses taken within the AEDY program align with the courses the student was enrolled in at the sending school. In the short-term, this alignment can make the transition back to the home school smoother while in the long-term it can improve overall academic outcomes for students by ensuring they remain on track for credits and graduation which in turn can reduce potential negative outcomes such as course failures and dropping out.

As the Sending LEA, you should receive regular updates on student academic progress as well as behavioral progress. This section of the FPR ensures that all members of the FPR team are informed on academic progress while in AEDY.

Throughout the meeting, all parties should have an opportunity to share their thoughts on the plan. The “Input from Review Team” section provides a place to record each member’s contributions to the meeting and also serves as a record of questions asked, concerns raised, and items resolved during previous meetings. These notes should be reviewed prior to and during any future FPR team meetings.

In addition to providing vital information about the student and the requirements of the sending school, Sending LEAs should always be present for these meetings to make the student feel they are still a part of their school community and that, when they have met their goals, the Sending LEA will positively support their transition back.

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After reviewing the student’s progress, the team determines next steps for the student under Recommendation and Exit Plan. This decision is based solely on whether the student has met the behavior goal(s) related to the reason for referral or not. The team will choose between these three options.

Option 1: Remain in placement with current supports. In this scenario, it's likely the student is progressing nicely and should be able to transition or exit in a timely manner.

Option 2: Remain in the program with revised supports. The student is not making progress and the team feels by revising goals and/or interventions they will start to make progress.

Option 3: Exit to regular school environment. The student has met their goals and/or their expulsion requirement. At this point, the team will draft a transition/exit plan.

If it is determined the student has met their goals or expulsion timeline, the Transition back to general education must begin. Use the “Exit Plan” section to record key components for the transition plan.

To begin, the team will determine the start date of the transition and projected end date, keeping in mind most transitions are typically no longer than a three week period. No transition should last long than 45 days. In many cases, where students complete a full, immediate transition, the start and projected end date are the same day.

In the next box, the logistical details of the exit plan should be spelled out. As the Sending LEA, it will be your responsibility to provide most of this information. In this section, the who, what, where, when, and how of the transition should be explained so all team members understand what will occur. It is also important to include the name and contact information for individuals who are responsible for various aspects of the plan, such as the counselor who will create the student’s schedule, a person responsible for ensuring transportation, and other logistical concerns.

Next, be sure to review the credits the student received while in placement so that they will transfer back to the Sending LEA upon exiting the program.

While the “Successful Supports and Strategies” tool is noted as optional, we highly recommend using it. Laying out the strategies that were successful for the student while in the AEDY program will help you as the Sending LEA and the student plan for a structured and supportive transition process. Identifying those supports that work best for student and creating a plan to replicate them in your school can make a huge difference as a student transitions. We've added some examples to frame what this could look like.

The General Outcomes section helps with Safe Schools tracking for students sent to AEDY programs. The option from this list should match what you will enter into Leader Services when you close the referral.

The signatures for the parties present during the Formal Periodic Review should be represented on the Signature page. If a team member participated via phone or zoom, it should be documented next to their typed name.

We hope this video provided helpful insight on the expectations of the Formal Periodic Review from the LEA lens. Additional videos on the Formal Periodic Review process for families and students are also available on the AEDY website.

Our website also houses all of our past trainings and lot of useful information related to AEDY. Additionally, our team is available as you have further or specific questions related to Alternative Education for Disruptive Youth Programs.