Child Study Team (CST)

Child Study Team Services

The Child Study Team (CST) is a multidisciplinary educational team that is responsible to locate, identify, evaluate, determine eligibility, and develop an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for students suspected of having educational disabilities. This group of specialists is employed by the MTPS district to provide consultative, evaluative and prescriptive services to teachers and parents. The team provides diagnostic services to children from age 3 to 21 that have been identified as having a potential disabling condition.


Who are the members of the Child Study Team?
As determined by the New Jersey Department of Education, the members of the CST include a school psychologist, a learning disabilities teacher-consultant, a school social worker, and in some cases, a speech-language specialist.


What are the responsibilities of the school psychologist?
The school psychologist has expertise in determining a child’s level of cognitive and conceptual development. In addition, the psychologist is concerned with the emotional status of the student, and how both internal and external factors may affect behavior and performance in school. The school psychologist works with both general education and special education teachers to maximize a student’s potential.


What are the responsibilities of the learning disabilities teacher-consultant?
The learning disabilities teacher-consultant is a master teacher who functions in the school environment as an educational diagnostician, instructional programmer, educational consultant and instructional leader. The LDTC must have the professional preparation to make assessments, analyses, and classifications of students’ learning differences; understand and implement special education law; plan and facilitate delivery of programs for children with learning differences; transfer specific and successful instructional techniques to classroom teachers through consultation, collaboration, and in-service education; and effectively communicate and consult with parents, counselors, teachers, and administrators. An educational assessment shall be the responsibility of a learning disabilities teacher-consultant employed by the district board of education. It shall include review of the student’s educational history, conferences with the student’s teacher(s), and an evaluation and analysis of the student’s academic performance and learning characteristics.


What are the responsibilities of the school social worker?
The expertise of the social worker lies in assessing the student relative to the family, the school, and the community. The social history evaluation is an assessment of biopsychosocial factors (social, emotional, physical, behavioral and cultural) that may impact a child’s adjustment to and performance in school. The school social worker also provides counseling, crisis intervention and consultation services, as well as helping families’ access community services.