The problem-solving expertise of the SST is for the benefit of the entire school. Any unresolved problem that is impeding learning may be referred to SST by a teacher, administrator, parent or student. However, this does not mean that every request will result in a local school decision to apply the SST process. A brainstorming process is used to generate recommendations for solving the problem. These are usually given to a teacher to implement with a student.
Documentation is kept on the case.
This depends on the specific problem. Usually, two to six weeks are sufficient to determine whether the recommendations will succeed. If not, the process may be used again to fine-tune the strategy. Some cases are of short duration, yet some students may be followed by SST for their entire school career. Exceptions would be preschoolers and students for whom SST would delay obviously needed Special Education services.