Team & Organization
Check-In/Check-Out
Tier 2 data from the paper card, recorded and graphed at check-out.
See Check-In/Check-Out: Check-In/Check-OutSPED referral evidence
A dated record of what was tried.
What the team tried, for how long, and how the student responded, documented as it happened and ready before a referral.
Before a referral
The questions every referral raises.
When a team considers a referral, the conversation turns to the record. Too often, the record is scattered.
What did we actually try before we referred him, and for how long?
The intervention notes are in four places, and two of them are in someone’s head.
Did he respond to Tier 2, or did we just stop writing it down?
If a family asks why it took this long, what does our record show?
Our state has its own rules. Are we documenting the way they expect?
Child Find
Child Find starts with a record.
Under IDEA’s Child Find requirement, districts must identify, locate and evaluate students who may have a disability and need special education. When a team considers a referral, the questions turn to what was tried, for how long, and how the student responded.
BrighterBalance keeps that record as it happens: dated, in the words of the adults who were there, with Tier 2 data such as Check-In/Check-Out alongside every adult’s logs.
This page describes how BrighterBalance documents interventions. It is not legal advice. Your district’s special education leadership and counsel decide what your process requires.
- Who uses it
- Special education directors, MTSS coordinators and school psychologists.
- What gets documented
- Each intervention, from Tier 2 CICO to classroom strategies, and how the student responded.
- Where the evidence comes from
- Every adult’s logs, CICO cards snapped at check-out, and scheduled direct observations.
- What the team keeps
- Every referral and eligibility decision. BrighterBalance documents; the team decides.
How the record builds
From the first concern to the referral meeting.
Marcus is a student whose team is weighing a referral. (A fictional example from our demo account.)
The first concern
Moments logged as they happen
Sarah Chen logs Marcus’s hard moments by voice in about 5 seconds. Each entry is dated, in her words, with what happened before and after.Tier 2 begins
CICO data, without data entry
Marcus starts Check-In/Check-Out. His Mentor snaps the card at check-out, and his daily scores and goal days are recorded and graphed.When the plan calls for it
Observations on schedule
Scheduled direct observations add timestamped data. A missed interval is recorded as missed, not left blank.Week after week
The response shows up
Marcus’s profile brings every adult’s logs together and surfaces time-of-day and setting patterns, so the team can see how he responded.Before a referral
A dated record, ready
The team has a dated record of what was tried, for how long, and how Marcus responded, including his CICO data.
The outcome
A record your team can stand behind.
Before: Intervention history pieced together from email and memory.
With BrighterBalance: What the team tried, for how long, and how the student responded, documented as it happened.
Before: Tier 2 data on paper cards in a folder.
With BrighterBalance: CICO scores recorded and graphed from a photo of the card.
Before: Notes that say “bad week.”
With BrighterBalance: Dated, objective entries with what happened before and after.
Before: Scrambling when a family or advocate asks.
With BrighterBalance: A dated record, ready before a referral.
Features used
The features behind the record.
Each one has its own page with the screens.
All plans
Student Profile
Every adult’s logs in one profile, with the pattern surfaced.
See Student Profile: Student ProfileTeam & Organization
Direct Observations
Scheduled sessions with timestamped events and missed intervals recorded as missed.
See Direct Observations: Direct ObservationsState Compliance Research
What your state requires for behavior documentation.
See state requirements: State Compliance ResearchSee the record before the referral meeting.
For districts and special education teams
Documentation your district can stand behind.
See how BrighterBalance fits your MTSS workflow, your rostering and the platform you already own. Most districts start with a team of five.
Request a demo