For years, special education has largely focused on ensuring equal rights and access to inclusive classrooms or the least restrictive environment.
There wasn’t much talk about whether some students really needed to be identified, even though many special educators saw firsthand that some populations, most notably African-American boys, were overidentified. And some pundits often claimed school officials were identifying too many students to receive extra funding.
Then research began to show the importance of early interventions, and a strategy called Response to Intervention (RTI) was born. It’s not a program, it’s a framework that helps catch students early on, when they first start to show signs of difficulties in learning.
The irony is, RTI is often called the best thing to happen to special education since the original version of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was enacted in 1975, but it’s not really about special education.
RTI was included in the 2004 reauthorization of the IDEA, but it’s designed to identify, diagnose, and prescribe treatment for problems before a student falls far behind. Often, that means the student does not enter special education, but if they do, there is a much better chance that they need to be there.
The Boone County, Ky., school district saw its number of referrals for special education drop 300 percent once they implemented an RTI program, and officials there have no doubt the students are getting more appropriate educational services.
Boone County catches students as early as possible-sometimes even as they enter kindergarten-by using subtle testing strategies and carefully monitoring students who are score near the bottom. If a student is showing signs of falling behind, educators step in with interventions that might include a small group study or reteaching lessons using different methods.
If a student continues to lag, then educators might try one-on-one tutoring or interventions outside the classroom. All of the interventions are research-based, and if a student is showing signs of a disability they are immediately tested.
But all the districts that have found success with RTI caution that setting up a program is a huge undertaking, and often it requires schools to rethink their schedules and invest in curriculum and ongoing teacher training.
“This has probably been the most powerful thing I’ve ever seen, when everyone in a district is focused on it,” says Wendy Robinson, assistant director of learning development at Heartland AEA in Johnston, Iowa. “Not only does it improve outcomes for special education, it changes outcomes across the board for all kids.”
To learn more about RTI and how to set up a program in your district, read my article in the September issue of ASBJ.
Joetta Sack-Min, Associate Editor
