CECs Guidelines on Response to Intervention RTI: The Unique Role of Special Education and Special Ed

1
CECs Guidelines on Response to Intervention
(RTI) The Unique Role of Special Education and
Special Educators

• CEC CAN Meeting
• June 10, 2007

2
CECs Guidelines on RTI

• The RTI process is designed to identify risk in
  children early, to provide access to prevention
  interventions, and to help identify children with
  disabilities as defined in the Individuals With
  Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

3
CECs Guidelines on RTI (cont.)

• To that end, CEC believes that any RTI process
  must include non-negotiable guarantees related to
  the special education system and for special
  educators. It is the position of CEC that an RTI
  system
• Must be viewed as a school-wide initiative, with
  special education as an explicit part of the
  framework, spanning both general and special
  education in collaboration with families.

4
CECs Guidelines on RTI (cont.)

• May reduce the number of students referred for
  special education, promote effective early
  intervention, provide diagnostic information to
  consider in the identification of a disability,
  and/or may reduce the impact of a disability on a
  childs academic progress

5
CECs Guidelines on RTI (cont.)

• Shall consist of a multi-tiered prevention system
  with at least three tiers
• Tier I primary preventative intervention, is
  general education where students must first show
  evidence of failing to respond to this universal
  core program
• Tier II secondary preventative intervention, is
  more intensive than general education but less
  intensive than special education and
• Tier III, tertiary intervention, is special
  education

6
CECs Guidelines on RTI (cont.)

• Shall provide special education and related
  services primarily, but not exclusively, which
  are the most intensive instructional program
  designed to address individual needs in tier three

7
CECs Guidelines on RTI (cont.)

• Shall include high quality research-based
  instruction, universal screening, and progress
  monitoring to determine the quality of childrens
  responses to intervention and to inform decisions
  regarding the movement from one tier to the next

8
CECs Guidelines on RTI (cont.)

• Shall include a universal screening process
  (generally tier one) that incorporates short-term
  progress monitoring in response to general
  education for determining which children require
  preventative intervention

9
CECs Guidelines on RTI (cont.)

• Shall use a formative evaluation system like
  progress monitoring measures to inform decision
  making on issues related to adjusting the
  instruction, changing the curricula or materials,
  and intervention determination from tier to tier

10
CECs Guidelines on RTI (cont.)

• Shall include provisions for referral for a
  comprehensive evaluation, which includes measures
  of cognitive ability, to determine if a child has
  a disability and is eligible for special
  education and related services and due process
  protections as required in IDEA 2004

11
(No Transcript)
12
CECs Guidelines on RTI (cont.)

• Shall not delay the referral of a child who is
  suspected of having a disability for a
  comprehensive evaluation

13
CECs Guidelines on RTI (cont.)

• Shall employ general educators as the primary
  interveners and special educators as members of
  the problem solving teams in tiers one and two,
  and special educators as primary interveners in
  tier three or the highest tier

14
CECs Guidelines on RTI (cont.)

• Shall include families as partners in the
  process, and at a minimum, inform parents of
  their rights as prescribed in IDEA 2004

15
CECs Guidelines on RTI (cont.)

• Shall consider the educational needs of children
  with gifts and talents and their families,
  particularly as it relates to the identification
  of children considered to be twice exceptional

16
CECs Guidelines on RTI (cont.)

• Shall recognize that the knowledge and skill
  level of educators needed in all three tiers is
  very different, thereby supporting requirements
  through pre-service and in-service for all
  educators to have knowledge and skills in
  evidence-based intervention strategies progress
  monitoring measures evaluating instructional and
  program outcomes and designing, implementing,
  and evaluating problem solving models with
  fidelity and integrity

17
CECs Guidelines on RTI (cont.)

• Shall make a firm commitment to continuing
  improvement through the process of structured
  monitoring, intensive ongoing evaluation, and
  systemic professional training based on research
  and practice

18
CECs Guidelines on RTI (cont.)

• Shall consider the intended and unintended
  consequences of moving toward more wide-scale
  implementation without more considerable research
  and development efforts

19
CECs Guidelines on RTI (cont.)

• Shall engage in research and development to
  inform practice, particularly in the areas of
  implementation across all academic areas and age
  levels movement back and forth from tiers and
  data needed to understand this movement

20
CECs Guidelines on RTI (cont.)

• Shall ensure that sufficient resources are
  available to cover a substantial percentage of
  the costs that states and districts will incur to
  carry out this initiative without reducing
  expenditures for other education programs

21
CEC Recommendation to Include RTI in ESEA

• Support the inclusion of a process based on a
  childs response to scientific, research-based
  intervention, RTI, in the reauthorization of the
  Elementary and Secondary Education Act

22
(No Transcript)