The ISSP Process in Newfoundland Schools: Step by Step

The NL special education process looks orderly on a chart. A student struggles, a teacher refers them, an assessment is completed, a plan is written, supports are delivered, progress is reviewed. In practice, each of those steps can stall for months or fall apart entirely without a parent actively pushing forward. Here is what the process actually looks like in Newfoundland and Labrador — and what to do when it stops moving.

Stage 1: Pre-Referral — RTL Tier 1 and Tier 2

Before a student is formally referred for assessment, the classroom teacher is expected to implement differentiated, evidence-based instruction as part of the Responsive Teaching and Learning (RTL) policy. This is called Tier 1 — high-quality instruction for all students. If a student continues to struggle despite Tier 1 adjustments, the teacher escalates to Tier 2, which involves more targeted interventions, documented in writing.

This pre-referral stage is where many students get stuck. Schools use the RTL framework's early tiers to document interventions before moving to formal referral — which is appropriate — but the stage can drag on for months while parents wait for movement. Under RTL, schools are required to use data to make decisions about tier progression. If your child has been at Tier 2 for more than one academic term without measurable progress, request a meeting with the Instructional Resource Teacher (IRT) and ask to see the data driving the decision to stay at this tier.

Stage 2: Referral to the Service Delivery Team

When Tier 2 interventions are insufficient, the classroom teacher or parent can request a formal review by the school's Service Delivery Team (SDT). The SDT includes the school administrator, guidance counsellors, IRT(s), and relevant classroom teachers. It meets bi-weekly.

At this meeting, the SDT decides whether to:

• Continue current interventions with modifications
• Refer the student for a formal comprehensive assessment

If an assessment is recommended, the school must obtain your written and informed consent before proceeding. This consent form is your first formal legal anchor point in the process — keep a copy dated with your signature.

Your right as a parent: you can also initiate the referral yourself. You do not need to wait for a teacher to suggest it. Write to the school principal or the Contact Teacher requesting a formal SDT review for your child.

Stage 3: Comprehensive Assessment

Once consent is signed, the student is placed on an assessment waitlist. This is the most painful stage for NL families.

Psychoeducational assessments through the school board or public health system take 12 to 24 months from referral. The province has approximately 70 Speech-Language Pathologists covering all five health zones — a figure that has reportedly not increased in 15 years despite rising demand. Following assessment, families often wait an additional 18 to 20 months for therapy through the public system.

Options to accelerate:

• Private psychoeducational assessment: Typically $3,200-$5,000 total. Private assessors must be registered with the NL Psychology Board to have results accepted by the school board. Some families use "fly-in" psychologists from Nova Scotia or Ontario for weekend clinic sessions.
• Physician or pediatric psychiatrist referral: For diagnoses like ADHD or anxiety that do not require a full psychoeducational assessment, a registered physician's or psychiatrist's diagnosis may be sufficient to trigger ISSP-level support planning.
• RTL interim accommodations: While waiting for formal assessment, continue pressing the school to document and implement RTL interventions. The formal diagnosis triggers the ISSP, but the RTL framework requires evidence-based support regardless of formal diagnostic status.

Stage 4: Program Planning Team (PPT) Meeting and ISSP Creation

Once the comprehensive assessment is complete and the exceptionality is formally identified, the Program Planning Team (PPT) convenes to write the ISSP.

The PPT includes:

• Parent or guardian (you)
• Student (if appropriate)
• Classroom teacher
• Instructional Resource Teacher (IRT)
• Additional specialists as relevant (speech-language pathologist, occupational therapist, school counsellor)

At this meeting, the team:

• Reviews assessment findings
• Identifies specific, measurable goals for each area of exceptionality
• Determines accommodations, modifications, or alternate curriculum pathways
• Assigns responsibility for each ISSP component
• Sets the first review date (no later than one year)

Your role is not to observe — you are a decision-making member of this team. Push back on vague goals. Every goal should specify the target behavior, the condition, and the measurable criterion. Ask: "How will we know this goal is being met? Who is responsible for collecting data, and how often?"

Stage 5: ISSP Implementation

After the PPT meeting, the ISSP is circulated for signatures and implementation begins. The classroom teacher, IRT, and any assigned Student Assistants (SAs) are responsible for executing the plan's components daily.

The implementation phase is where the NL system's structural weaknesses show most visibly. SA hours are allocated to schools based on aggregate need — not attached to individual students. This means the school has administrative discretion to reallocate SA support to cover classroom absences or higher-acuity situations. When this happens, the student whose ISSP documents one-on-one SA support loses that support without formal notification.

To monitor implementation:

• Keep a dated log of observations: specific accommodations your child reports not receiving, changes in homework load or in-class behavior indicating missed support
• Request monthly written updates from the Contact Teacher on goal progress
• Review report cards critically: grades should reflect progress toward ISSP goals, not just the general curriculum

Stage 6: Progress Monitoring and Review

The ISSP must be formally reviewed at least annually. However, parents can and should request interim reviews whenever:

• There is a significant change in the child's needs or functioning
• ISSP goals are clearly not being met
• New assessment data is available
• The child is transitioning to a new school level (elementary to intermediate, intermediate to senior high)

For progress monitoring, ask the school to share the data they are collecting on ISSP goals — not just verbal updates. If the ISSP includes a goal with a measurable criterion (e.g., "reading 50 words per minute by June"), there should be periodic data points on file. Request this data in writing before each review meeting so you arrive prepared.

The Transition Milestone: Senior High and Graduation Pathways

One critical process milestone NL parents must understand before senior high: the type of courses your child takes directly determines their graduation credential.

NL uses a Pathways framework:

• Pathway 3 (Modified Courses): Provincial courses with reduced depth — these appear on transcripts with a fifth digit of 6 or 8
• Pathway 4 (Alternate Courses): Courses outside the prescribed curriculum, coded 70 — count for credit volume but do not satisfy specific graduation requirements (e.g., an alternate math course does not count toward the mandatory math credit for a diploma)
• Pathway 5 (Alternate Curriculum): Functional curriculum for students with moderate to profound intellectual disabilities

Students completing Pathway 4 or 5 courses who do not meet the minimum curricular requirements receive a School Achievement Certificate rather than a standard High School Diploma. This affects post-secondary eligibility. Parents must understand and actively approve this trajectory in the ISSP, not discover it at graduation.

Keeping the Process Moving

The ISSP process in NL moves fastest when parents create written records at every stage. Every request, every meeting, every unmet accommodation — write it down, date it, and send a follow-up email to create a paper trail. The system's chronic under-resourcing means informal conversations rarely produce results. Documented requests with cited policy provisions produce accountability.

For a step-by-step companion through every stage of the NL ISSP process — from RTL pre-referral through Schools Act Section 22 appeals — the Newfoundland & Labrador IEP & Support Plan Blueprint covers each phase with specific NL policy citations and ready-to-use templates for each milestone.

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