Response to Intervention: Something New in Special Education

There is a recent nationwide trend to change the way schools approach learning difficulties by using a Response to Intervention (RTI) approach to identifying learning disabilities. The goals of RTI include having fewer children "labeled" as needing special education, and providing intervention services before children fall significantly behind in school.

Although each school district has flexibility in how they implement RTI, the general premise of the system involves (1) frequent testing of all students to identify which students are not learning at grade level, (2) having the teacher provide research supported instrction in the classroom to those students who have been identified as being at risk, (3) small group research supported instruction outside of the classroom for students that do not respond to research supported instruction by the teacher, (4) one-on-one research supported instruction for children who do not respond to small group research supported instruction, and (5) referral for further evaluation and to determine if the child qualifies for special education services if he/she does not respond to one-on-one instruction. In theory, RTI would provide appropriate instruction to students without their needing to be identified as having a specific learning disability. Tihs is a very positive step in the right direction, as it should allow for much earlier intervention, compared to the previous model of waiting until a child is performing singificantly below their expected ability level before interventing.

To ensure that RTI works properly, several factors need to be in place. First and foremost, schools must have access to research supported instruction, and teachers must be highly qualified to implement such instruction (per the law). Without the right instruction methods, or without a teacher who is qualified to use such methods, RTI si not likely to succeed. While RTI may lower the number of students qualifying for special education, it actually will mean an increase in students who are receiving more individualized instruction; this may require more teachers, and certainly more highly qualified teachers, than scools have relied on in the past. Secondly, schools must have a plan in place to determine how long a child must stay at an intervention level (e.g., small group) before it is determined that he/she is not succeeding and should be moved to a more intensive level of instruction. In many ways, this creates the same dilemmas and "decision points" already present in special education, and may therefore be a challenge to many schools. If this process is too slow for some students, they may be no better off than they are with the "older" method of waiting until they are several years behind before taking action. Finally, schools will have to determine how to address older students' learning needs, as implementing RTI with a 5th grader who is struggling to read may not be appropriate, due to time constraints.

If RTI is successful, schools may see that the number of students who are identified as having specific learning disabilities drops substantially. This will not mean that fewer students have learning disabilities...it will simply mean that schools were able to intervene early enough so that those learning disabilities did not significantly hinder the child's progress in school.

All parents, especially parents of children with learning difficulties, should educate themselves about the rights and laws pertaining to their child's education. An excellent resource is www.wrightslaw.com.