Pre-referral guidelines developed by the Minnesota State Department of Education are presented. The guidelines concern the possible referral of students with unique learning patterns and are organized around existing district policies, teacher-student relationships, teacher skills, and alternative instructional programs provided by the various school districts. Such topics as collegiality and cooperation, parent involvement, interagency cooperation, identification of students with special needs, accommodation of individual needs, alternative programs, and available resources are covered. A 25-item bibliography is included. Appended are a model of pre-referral and an implementation checklist. (CB)