Frontline Blog

Building an RTI/MTSS model for behavior is not easy. It can require 3-5 years of sustained effort — an understandable timeline when one considers that schools often must make do with existing resources and can move forward only as quickly as their staff is able to assimilate changes to their professional practice.

Since the great majority of states do not provide Section 504 regulations, and the federal law itself does not establish clear process rules, educators today are left grappling with the practical implementation of this near 50-year-old law without clarity.

First, the juggling: when I was in high school, I discovered that my very talented younger sister had learned to juggle. I immediately believed that if she could do it, well, of course so could I. So, I embarked on a tortured process of self-instruction (conducted in an era before YouTube) marked by numerous setbacks that at last culminated in the modest accomplishment of being able to keep 3 balls in the air for a reasonable span of time.

Student data tells a story. When schools administer building-wide academic screeners, screening data has the remarkable power to predict which students are at serious risk of academic failure and need targeted RTI and MTSS interventions.  

By 2014-15 the number of children served under IDEA was 6.6 million or 13% of total public school enrollment.  When looking at this data, districts, schools and educators must consider equity in education and the appropriateness of the classification of special needs students in and across states.  

Following the March 2017 U.S. Supreme Court ruling on special education, what does FAPE actually mean for the over 6.6 million students currently receiving special education in U.S. public schools? How should a student’s needs be met and tracked? Is FAPE different for a student with behavioral difficulties that impact learning and participation?   

A well-constructed Present Levels of Performance Statement sets the stage for determining goals, specially designed instruction and services for each student. It also provides next year’s teacher with the great instructionally relevant information they need to hit the ground running and maximize benefit to the student.  

School-wide academic screeners provide the equivalent of air traffic control for RTI/MTSS and lend considerable power to the RTI/MTSS model. Because so much of the impact of RTI/MTSS depends upon the quality and use of screening data, veteran RTI/MTSS districts should start the school year by reviewing their school-wide screening procedures.

The most recent national data indicates that almost 10% of public students in the U.S. are participating in English language learner programs. That percentage is up from 8.8% in 2004. The data keeps telling us that the ELL population is on the rise but what does that mean specifically for your state and unique education community?