The term Braided Services is intended to describe the blending of several concepts that are a part of the reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004. These ideas translate into activities that have a considerable degree of overlap, in particular the involvement of both special and general education, and include those related to Response to Intervention (RtI), Early Intervening Services (EIS), disproportionality (or overrepresentation), Positive Behavior Supports, and the Texas Collaborative for Emotional and Behavioral Development in Schools (TxCEDS). The crossover between general education and special education implicit in RtI and the related activities described above will require a blending or “braiding” of programs and issues in order to maximize resources and avoid duplication of efforts.
General and Special Education Involvement
The majority of cases these activities can be considered whole campus programs
because they involve addressing the needs all students, both special and general
education, often through a school improvement process involving a change in
the way a school does business. Activities such as learning disability (LD)
eligibility determination or EIS will need to involve the general education
program. RtI activities may address disproportionality, EIS and LD eligibility
determination simultaneously, in a blended or braided manner, as there is a
great deal of overlap between activities. Additional information regarding blending
or braiding of services will be included in future guidance regarding RtI.
Rationale – why do this?
A school district might want to implement the services described above in a
blended or braided manner for the following reasons:
Resources
Texas Education Agency | Division of IDEA Coordination
1701 North Congress Avenue | Austin, Texas 78701-1494
Telephone: 512.463.9414 | Fax: 512.463.9560
Last Update: July 3, 2007 | Created: August 1, 2006
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