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Quick reference

In the moment

Single-screen action steps for the moments the longer briefs are too long for. Find the card that matches what's in front of you. Use the steps. Read the full brief later if you want the framework.

These cards don't replace your district's training, your student's plan, or your supervising teacher's guidance. They're a recall aid for content you already know — not how to learn it. 12 situations covered.

Right now

Something is happening. You need a fast plan for the next 60 seconds.

A student just told you something serious

A student just told you about abuse, neglect, or being unsafe — straight out, in bits and pieces, or in a roundabout way.

Do

  1. Stay calm. Your face and voice should tell them they are safe and you are listening.
  2. Listen. Don’t interrupt. Use their words — if they call the abuser “my mom’s boyfriend,” you say “your mom’s boyfriend.” Believe them.
  3. Tell them it matters: “Thank you for telling me. What you said is important.”
  4. As they finish, be honest about what happens next. Say this as the last line, not in the middle: “My job is to make sure kids are safe. I have to talk to some people whose job is to help. I won’t talk to anyone who doesn’t need to know.”

Don't

  • Don’t promise to keep it secret. “I won’t tell anyone” is a promise you can’t keep.
  • Don’t interrogate (question them like a detective). No leading questions, don’t make them repeat the story, and don’t ask for details to check if it’s true.
  • Don’t react with shock or anger — they often love the person they are talking about, and they are watching your face.
  • Don’t call the family or talk to the person they say did it. Investigators handle that.

After

  • As soon as they leave you, write down exactly what they said, in their words, with quotation marks.
  • Report to your state’s child-abuse hotline yourself, right away — in Washington that’s DCYF at 1-866-END-HARM (1-866-363-4276). As a mandated reporter this is your own legal duty. If your district says to tell an administrator first, do both: follow the district step AND make sure the report to the state actually gets made.
  • Childhelp (1-800-422-4453) is a national guidance line — it can talk you through it and point you to your state’s reporting number, but calling Childhelp is not the report and does not meet the law on its own.

When things settle: a guided self-debrief (nothing is saved)

Read the full brief →

Something feels off

You're being asked to do something — or you heard something — that doesn't feel right.

You were just asked to do something that felt wrong

Someone in charge of your work just asked you to do something that doesn’t feel right.

First check

Is this just new to you, or does it really cross a line?

  • Probably fine (uncomfortable, but allowed): a task you haven’t done before but are allowed to do; filling in for someone; a choice you don’t agree with but is a matter of judgment; or a hard people-related ask.
  • Might cross a line: it’s outside what you’re allowed to do; it breaks a law or policy; it would hurt a student; it blocks required reporting; it involves discrimination; it mixes a personal and work relationship in a risky way; or it means faking records.
  • If it might cross a line, use the steps below.

Do

  1. Pause. Don’t act right away. Pausing is not disobeying — it is being careful and professional.
  2. Ask them to explain: “Can you walk me through what you’re asking?” Sometimes the answer clears things up. Sometimes it makes the problem clearer.
  3. Say your worry clearly: “I’m not trained on that medication.” “This isn’t in his behavior plan — can we check with Ms. Okafor first?” “I’m not trained and cleared for restraint — that has to be someone who is.”
  4. If you have to say no, stay calm and keep it short: “I can’t do this without checking with my supervising teacher.” “This is outside what I’m allowed to do.” Write down the request the same day — date, time, who asked, exactly what they asked, who was there, and what you said.

Don't

  • Don’t do it just because the person is in charge — you do not have to follow an order that breaks a law, a policy, the rules of your job, or what is right.
  • Don’t argue for a long time under pressure. You don’t have to win them over.

After

Within 24 hours, turn your notes into a full account while you still remember it well. Send it on the way district policy says — usually the principal or HR (Human Resources). If the request involves suspected abuse or neglect — or someone telling you not to make a required report — call your state’s child-abuse hotline yourself right away; that duty is yours and it does not wait for the write-up. If it is also a concern for the state DOE (Department of Education), send your account there too. See brief 13.05 (When You See Something Wrong) for the longer framework.

Read the full brief →

Your supervising teacher won’t communicate

Your supervising teacher isn’t talking with you — no check-ins, no feedback, no access to plans, or mixed signals — and the work is suffering.

First check

What kind of “won’t communicate” is this? Each kind is handled differently.

  • A gap in structure or skill (most common): no set check-ins, no written tasks, no access to plans, no feedback. Use the steps below to build that structure.
  • Hostile, or a rule problem: a mean tone, putting you down in front of others, blocking your access to plans you need to keep a student safe, punishing you for speaking up, or anything that puts a student in danger. That’s a different path: go straight to an administrator (admin), HR (Human Resources), or your union (if you have one). See brief §6 on how to escalate.

Do

  1. Try talking to them first. Name the exact gap and one clear ask, and tie it to the student: “I want to run Owen’s behavior plan the way you want. Can we get 15 minutes Thursday?”
  2. Put the ask in writing — an email or a shared note. Written asks don’t get forgotten and they create a record.
  3. If talking to them doesn’t work after a real try, take it to an administrator (admin). Be specific and use facts: “I’ve asked for X three times since [date]; here’s what is still not happening.”
  4. Write down the pattern as it happens — dates, what happened, what you tried, and how they responded.

After

If admin doesn’t fix it, more paths open up: the district special-education director, HR (Human Resources), or your union (if you have one). Keep doing the work well in the meantime — speaking up about the problem is part of the job, not instead of it.

Read the full brief →

What your district owes you — and what you can decline

You were asked to do something you have not been trained for, you cannot find a student's plan, or you saw a restraint or a hold that worried you.

Do

  1. Ask your supervising teacher which safety trainings you have actually been given, and which you have not: the crisis and restraint program your district uses, mandated-reporter training, and this building's drill procedures. Ask by email so there is a record.
  2. Ask for the plans for every student you support — the IEP or 504, the behavior plan, and any health or emergency plan. You are supposed to have these for a student in your care, and “ask your teacher” is a reasonable answer only until someone shows you the plan.
  3. If you are asked to do something you have not been trained for — a hold, a health task, a medical procedure — say so out loud and ask for the person who has been trained. “I have not been trained for this” is a scope statement, not a refusal to work.
  4. If you saw a restraint, a seclusion, or a plan being ignored and it worried you, report it. Ask your district what its reporting path is now, before you need it — you do not need a sure case to use it.

Don't

  • Don’t treat “how everyone here does it” as training. Training is something your district gives you and writes down.

After

The scope-of-practice brief below is the fuller version of where your role ends. For anything happening right now, the response is your building's and your school team's responsibility — reach them, and call 911 if someone is in danger.

Read the full brief →

Today's situation

Today is not normal. A refusal, a sub, a field trip, a parent's question, or a new student.

Your student is refusing to work

Your student won’t start. Won’t take part. Won’t pick up the pencil. The room is filling up with the stand-off.

Do

  1. Quick check first — are they safe and calm? Hungry, tired, in pain, or needing the bathroom? Is the task one they can do, too hard, or in the wrong format for them? This takes 30 seconds and shapes the right response.
  2. Slow down. Lower your voice. Step back if you’ve been standing over them. Acknowledge it: “This is hard right now.” “I can see you don’t want to do this.”
  3. Make the first step smaller: “Just the first problem.” “Just write your name on top.” Or fold the worksheet so they only see 5 of the 20 problems.
  4. Offer a real choice that keeps the task the same (pencil or marker, top or bottom, problem 1 or problem 5 first). Then wait — count to 30 in your head. Many students start once the pressure lets up.

Don't

  • Don’t push harder right away — “You need to do this NOW” usually locks them in.
  • Don’t argue about whether the work is fair, hard, or important. Don’t make it personal (“you always / you never”).
  • Don’t take away recess as a punishment — that’s when students with attention or trauma histories calm themselves down.

After

If those moves don’t work, setting the task aside for now isn’t giving in — it’s good timing. Write it down for the team. Refusal that keeps happening is a “what is this refusal telling us?” conversation, not a behavior-chart one.

Read the full brief →

There’s a substitute teacher in your room today

There’s a substitute (sub) in your room today. Your job is to keep things steady so your students don’t lose ground.

Do

  1. Meet with the sub for a few minutes if you can — 5 minutes is enough. Walk through the day, point out the most important student info, and sort out what you’ll handle and what the sub handles.
  2. Grab the sub folder if there is one (the binder with the schedule, the class list, the building map, the emergency steps, and notes about specific students). Share private plans with the sub only if they need them for the day.
  3. Keep your students’ routines steady — they know you. Keep your usual steps going for moving between activities, breaks, and calming tools.
  4. Step in early when you see the first signs of trouble that the sub won’t catch (changes in voice, fidgeting, pulling away, getting tense). Don’t wait for it to blow up.

Don't

  • Don’t take over the teaching — you are not the certified teacher, and the services in the IEP (Individualized Education Program, the student’s legal learning plan) must be given by the right adult.
  • Don’t share private student info with anyone who doesn’t need it for the day’s work.

After

Leave an end-of-day note for the supervising teacher: what worked, what didn’t, and anything to follow up on tomorrow. Sub days show you what your systems handle well and where they are shaky — write down both.

Read the full brief →

A para is out and you’re covering

A para (paraprofessional) is out today, and you’re either filling their role or covering the gap along with the supervising teacher.

Do

  1. Grab the absent para’s sub folder if there is one — the schedule, the key students, the services listed in their IEP (Individualized Education Program, the student’s legal learning plan), how they communicate (AAC), medical needs, and accommodations.
  2. Sort by priority: 1:1 students (one-on-one) and students who need personal care come first — their IEP services and basic needs come before anything optional.
  3. Run the behavior plan as closely to the way it’s written as you can — but only the parts you’ve been trained on. If a step is outside your training, ask for help; don’t guess. “Some of it, done the same way every time” beats “all of it, done off and on.”
  4. Tell the supervising teacher up front what you can cover and what you can’t. Write down the service time that didn’t happen — the para minutes listed in the IEP that the student did not get. The team needs that information.

After

This is mostly a bigger problem — having sub-paras who actually show up. One person scrambling can get through a day, but it doesn’t fix the gap. Report it in writing to an administrator (admin) when coverage keeps falling through.

Read the full brief →

Field trip today

Field trip today with your student. The classroom routine is about to disappear.

Do

  1. Pack the kit: the AAC device (charged) + a visual schedule (a picture plan of the day) + calming tools + sensory items + a change of clothes + medication + snacks + water + emergency contacts + the student’s plan in writing.
  2. Read the schedule hour by hour. Where will you be, and when. Bathrooms. Quiet spaces. Food. Accessible routes. Weather. Pick a calm-down space at the place ahead of time — don’t wait and make one up.
  3. Stay with the class so your student is included — that’s the whole point. Use the calm-down space when you need to, then come back to the group. Don’t pull them aside by default.
  4. The morning of, walk your student through the day in their format (a visual schedule, a Social Story, or a walk-through). Picture the hard spots in your head: getting on the bus, lining up, lunch, getting tired in the afternoon, and the bus ride back.

Don't

  • Don’t leave the kit on the bus or in a building you can’t get back into.
  • Don’t assume the place has accommodations just because the website says so — call ahead and confirm.
  • Don’t push through a meltdown to “see one more thing.” The calm-down space is part of the plan.

After

At the end of the day, fill the family in: what went well, what was hard, and anything to watch for tonight. Note what worked and what didn’t for the next trip — the lessons add up.

Read the full brief →

A new student from another country just arrived

A student who just arrived from another country joined your room. They speak little or no English.

Do

  1. Greet them warmly. Smile. Say their name right — ask the family or the student how. Use their home language if you can; if not, get a peer who can translate or an interpreter to help them settle in.
  2. Give them a starter kit: a schedule, a name tag, a school map, and cards with key words. Pair them with a buddy from class if you can. Walk through the day with them in person.
  3. Let them be quiet. Many new students watch quietly for days or weeks. This quiet time is normal and is not a sign of a learning disability.
  4. Give the office, the custodian, the cafeteria, and the after-school staff a heads-up so the student isn’t a surprise everywhere they go.

Don't

  • Don’t push the team toward a special-education evaluation on Day 1 — most struggles for new arrivals are about language and adjusting, not a disability. (Some are both; the work is to watch patiently.)
  • Don’t test their English in front of other students.
  • Don’t guess how much they understand based on a no-English first day.

After

First-week priorities: build a relationship; be a steady, safe, predictable adult; and give them language they can understand without pushing them to speak English yet. If the records show a diagnosis from another country, take note of it but don’t apply it as-is — different countries define things differently, and the team evaluates using U.S. categories before IEP (Individualized Education Program) services apply.

Read the full brief →

You’ve just been asked to interpret

Someone just asked you to interpret or translate for a family — right now, on the spot.

First check

First, what kind of conversation is this?

  • Consent, rights, or a signature — an IEP (Individualized Education Program) or eligibility meeting, anything a parent is being asked to agree to: this needs the district’s trained interpreter, not you.
  • Discipline, health, or crisis — days out of school, medication instructions, an emergency: trained interpreter.
  • Logistics and everyday talk — a bus time, a door, a schedule, a warm hello: this one is yours, and it matters.
  • Someone suggests the student interpret for their own family: stop there, whoever suggested it.

Do

  1. Say out loud what you can and can’t carry: “I can help with everyday conversation. This one should have the district’s trained interpreter.” That’s the professional call, not a refusal.
  2. If it is yours to carry, speak to the family and not about them — eye contact with the parent, two or three sentences at a time so you can pause, and school jargon dropped before you start.
  3. Carry the meaning, and carry hard news at full weight. Softening it to be kind takes the family’s real picture away from them.
  4. The moment you hit a word you don’t have, say so — mid-sentence if you need to. “I don’t know that term, let me get someone who does” is the right answer.
  5. Tell the teacher or the office who needs an interpreter and for what, so it gets scheduled instead of landing on you again tomorrow.

Don't

  • Don’t interpret a meeting where a parent will be asked to agree or sign. Agreement only counts if they understood it, and you would be the one who carried it.
  • Don’t let a student interpret for their own family. It flips the roles at home and quietly decides what a parent is allowed to hear.
  • Don’t add your own advice, opinion, or reassurance to what was said. In that moment you are the channel, not a second voice.

After

Being fully bilingual and being a trained interpreter are two different jobs — the second is a skill with training behind it, and schools owe families meaningful access through it. If you are being asked to interpret regularly, raise it with your supervising teacher: partly so the family actually gets what they are entitled to, and partly so the extra work you have been absorbing becomes visible.

Read the full brief →

Someone just asked if this student should be evaluated

A student who is learning English is silent or struggling, and someone just asked whether they should be evaluated.

First check

One question does most of the work: does this show up in their home language too?

  • Only in English — slow reading, dropped plurals and tenses, quiet for weeks, missing the jokes, mixing both languages in one sentence: that is what building a second language looks like.
  • In both languages — the family sees the same thing at home, or it shows up on a task with no English in it at all: that belongs in front of the team.
  • Silent in both languages, with real anxiety alongside it: that goes to the counselor or the speech-language therapist (SLP) rather than more waiting.
  • You don’t have to answer the question. You have to bring what you have seen.

Do

  1. Say what you have actually seen, not what you conclude from it. “He follows two-step directions and points to answers, and he hasn’t spoken in five weeks” is the sentence the team can use.
  2. Write it down and send it to your supervising teacher in writing — dates, settings, what worked, what didn’t. A note in a thread is a record; a remark in the hallway isn’t.
  3. If you already talk with the family, listen for what they notice at home in their own language, and pass it along. If you don’t, tell the teacher it’s worth asking — with an interpreter.
  4. Keep the language support rich while the team works. A pending question changes nothing about what you give this student tomorrow.

Don't

  • Don’t let “they’re still learning English” close the question. Waiting years to look is its own mistake, and students have lost services to it.
  • Don’t let a stretch of silence be the whole argument the other way either. English learners get sent for evaluation too often when the barrier is language.
  • Don’t answer a family’s question about whether their child has a disability. That conversation belongs to the team, with an interpreter.

After

Whichever way it goes, your notes are what the team works from, and they carry the most weight when they are specific and dated. If an evaluation does happen, it should involve someone who can assess in the student’s own language — a standard English test on its own reads normal language growth as a problem.

Read the full brief →

A parent just asked you a question you can’t answer

A parent at pickup, drop-off, or in the hallway just asked you a question you can’t or shouldn’t answer.

Do

  1. Take a breath. The plan is: be warm, point them to the right person, and write it down.
  2. Acknowledge it — tell them it’s a good question and you’re glad they care.
  3. Say who handles it and how: “Ms. Brennan has the full picture — I’ll have her reach out today. Would you like her to call or email?” Don’t leave it as a vague “someone will get back to you.”
  4. Write down the contact the same day — who, when, what they asked, what you said, and who you sent it to.

Don't

  • Don’t say “I don’t know” or “I can’t tell you” — both shut down the talk without giving them a next step.
  • Don’t make up an answer just to ease the pressure. Wrong answers pile up trouble.
  • Don’t talk about other students or share details covered by student-privacy law.

After

Hand the question off to the named person before you leave for the day. If the question was a mental-health emergency (“he told me he wants to die,” “she’s been cutting”), abuse, or someone in danger right now, don’t save it for later: get the counselor, nurse, or supervising teacher to you while the parent is still standing there, and stay with the parent until that adult arrives. Anything else serious — an urgent medical issue, bullying — is a report or a same-day team conversation.

Read the full brief →