3 Must-Have School-Based OT Systems That Will Change Your Practice (Plus, a Free Evaluation Checklist)
- Jayson Davies
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
Ready for a quick game of school-based OT Bingo? Let's see if you get three in a row!
Are you frequently:
Getting referrals for students who really just needed adapted paper or a pencil grip.
Being invited to IEPs to review OT evaluations for students you've never even heard of.
Realizing the day before a triennial IEP that you forgot to observe a student in their classroom.
BINGO?
Trust me, you're not alone.
With countless treatment hours, a half dozen open evaluations, and 3-6 IEPs a week, it can feel like we're running on autopilot, juggling too many tasks and reacting to problems instead of preventing them.
These moments don't mean you're disorganized. Rather, they show that the system you're working within needs refining.
The good news is that by implementing just a few intentional systems can completely change how you manage your workload and collaborate with your school team. By setting up three simple processes (teacher consultations, referral management, and evaluation procedures), you can create more time, consistency, and confidence in your daily practice.
Let's look at each of these systems and how we can design them to work for us, not against us.
System 1: A Teacher Consultation Process (Pre-Referral)
Why It Matters
Teachers are often the first to notice when students struggle with handwriting, attention, or self-regulation. But without a clear way to reach out and get simple support from you, they may jump straight to an OT referral, even when classroom-based strategies could make a difference.
A structured consultation process (MTSS Tier 1) gives teachers an avenue to access your expertise early on, before a specific student is even named. These conversations should be about general classroom challenges, not individual students - even when the teacher has 1 or 2 specific children in mind. By keeping the focus on participation, routines, and environmental supports, you're helping teachers apply occupational therapy principles directly into their classrooms.
This approach protects student privacy, aligns with FERPA and IDEA, and supports a workload model where OT services reach all students through collaboration, not just those on your caseload.
How to Build It
Here's what a practical, ethical consultation system can look like:
Create a general consultation request form: A simple Google Form can allow teachers to describe their concern (e.g., "Many students rush through written work") and what they've already tried.
Embed consultation into existing meetings: Join grade-level, PBIS, or Student Support meetings to share quick strategies related to broad classroom challenges.
Provide universal resources: Share quick-reference strategy sheets for common topics such as pencil grasp, posture, attention, or transitions. (Collaborative members can access printable handouts in the OT Schoolhouse Collaborative Resource Library).
Offer brief classroom visits: Observe general routines (like how the class manages materials or transitions) and recommend task or environmental tweaks that can benefit everyone.
Document and follow up: Keep short notes about what topics were discussed and the supports shared. This documentation helps highlight your workload contributions beyond direct service.
Bonus: Record short and simple videos about your most frequently asked question from teachers. Upload them to youtube as “unlisted” so they are not searchable, and then send teachers the direct links. That way you don’t have to repeat yourself every week.
The Payoff
When consultations focus on classroom concerns instead of individual students, teachers feel supported without needing to file a referral. They are also able to incorporate their newfound knowledge for years to come. Plus, you become a proactive partner rather than a reactive evaluator, and your impact expands across the entire school.
For examples of how this proactive approach works, check out our articles on “Reducing OT Referrals: Using MTSS and RTI-2 to Better Assist You!” and “Getting Ahead of Your OT Evals Using Tier 1 Interventions”
Both explore real-world strategies for collaborative support.
System 2: A Referral Management Process
Why It Matters
Even with a strong consultation process, some students will still need a formal evaluation. Unfortunately, referrals often arrive missing crucial information, such as classroom data, previous interventions, or a clear description of how the concern affects participation.
A consistent referral management process ensures that every referral you receive is complete, appropriate, and aligned with educational needs.
How to Build It
Design a comprehensive referral form: Include sections for student strengths, targeted concerns, classroom strategies tried, and data on functional impact. Use a combination of checklists and open ended questions for the teacher/IEP team to complete.
Require pre-referral documentation: Encourage teachers to document which strategies they implemented (ideally based on your consultation suggestions).
Define clear referral criteria: Educate staff on what constitutes an appropriate OT referral versus what may be addressed through consultation or Tier 1/2 supports.
If possible, attend the IEP meeting when a referral is discussed: Even if you can’t attend the whole meeting, a short discussion helps clarify concerns before moving to the evaluation stage.
Communicate timelines: Let staff know what happens next and when they can expect feedback.
The Payoff
This system means you'll spend less time tracking down missing information and more time completing meaningful evaluations. It also helps teachers make informed decisions, reducing unnecessary testing and keeping your workload manageable.
💡 Collaborative members can access our school-based OT handbook template, which outlines a referral system that schools can use to ensure referrals are relevant, tracked, and acted on.
System 3: An Evaluation Process and Checklist
Why It Matters
Without a clear structure, evaluations can feel scattered. It's easy to miss a classroom observation or forget to include an activity-level assessment. A well-defined evaluation process keeps your work consistent, efficient, and student-centered.
How to Build It
Use a top-down approach: Start with participation and performance in context before testing isolated skills.
Follow a consistent sequence: Review records → interview teachers and parents → observe in natural settings → assess → analyze → report.
Create an evaluation checklist: Include each step (from prep and interviews to writing and follow-up) to ensure nothing gets missed.
Know your tools: Know the assessment tools you have access to and understand what tools to use for which concerns.
Build evaluation time into your schedule: Build time into your schedule to focus on evaluations. Completing evaluations on the fly has never led to great findings, at least for me.
Track your progress: Use your checklist to monitor completion and stay organized.
The Payoff
With a structured system, you'll produce thorough, defensible evaluations while saving time. Reports become stronger, recommendations clearer, and you'll feel more confident presenting results at IEPs.
Need a checklist to help ensure you complete every evaluation in an organized and top-down manner?
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Bringing It All Together - School-based OT Systems
Building these three school-based OT systems (consultation, referral management, and evaluation) isn't about adding more work. It's about creating clarity and efficiency so your day feels smoother and your impact greater.
Sure, they take a little bit of time to set up, but once they are running, you will save countless hours every month!
Start with just one system, refine it, then layer in the others. Before long, you'll have a sustainable, organized practice that supports you and your school community.
Systems don't restrict you. They free you to focus on what matters most: helping students participate and thrive.
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