National Center on Response to Intervention (RTI)

According to Dr. Doug Fuchs, "Some people believe that special education should have little role in RTI, others believe that special ed should have a predominate role in RTI. Some believe that special education’s proper role or function should be sprinkled...across and among the RTI tiers...Others believe that special educators should be only at the most intensive tier in an RTI system."

Watch and listen as Dr. Doug Fuchs explains the relationship between RTI and special education.

Watch the Video  
Read the Transcript

This 2004 journal article describes the use of RTI as an alternative to the traditional IQ-discrepancy model for the identification of specific learning disabilities.  It operationalizes the use of RTI in the identification process as occurring in three phases, describes these phases, and delineates the benefits to using the RTI model for identification.  The article was written by Joseph F. Kovaleski, PhD and David P. Prasse PhD, released by the National Association of School Psychologists and published in the journal Principal Leadership by the National Association of Secondary School Principals.

Copyright 1993 by the National Association of School Psychologists. Reproduced with permission of the publisher.

PDF Version

This family guide provides an overview of the basic components of RTI and includes questions parents may want to ask their child’s school regarding how they can get involved in the RTI process. The guide also addresses the relation of RTI to the special education process. This guide was released by the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) in January 2008.

PDF Version

This brief, released by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) in 2007, provides parents with an overview of RTI. It describes the essential components and key terms of RTI, the benefits it provides to students, the role RTI plays in special education eligibility, and the parents’ role in the RTI process. The brief also delineates steps parents can take to become more involved in RTI implementation, and concludes with a list of resources that would be useful to parents.

Copyright 1993 by the National Association of School Psychologists. Reproduced with permission of the publisher.

PDF Version

This article, released by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), discusses strategies to help English-language learners (ELLs) and culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students succeed in school.  It focuses on ways to properly assess ELLs and CLD students for learning disabilities and limit inappropriate referrals for special education, with an emphasis on how RTI can play a role.

HTML Version

This article, released by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), discusses strategies to help English-language learners (ELLs) and culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students succeed in school. It focuses on ways to properly assess ELLs and CLD students for learning disabilities and limit inappropriate referrals for special education, with an emphasis on how RTI can play a role.

HTML Version

This 2008 brief discusses how RTI can be adapted for English Language Learners (ELL).  It provides an initial framework in the use of RTI that considers students’ life experiences, including their language proficiencies in their first and second language, as well as the contexts in which they are taught. The brief begins by explaining what RTI is, and how the three tiered model of instruction and intervention can be used with ELL students.  The brief then provides a detailed table of information for each tier that delineates guiding questions, instruction/intervention, service provider and necessary service provider skills.  The brief concludes with an overview of how RTI can help students in general, and ELL students in particular. This brief was written by Julie Esparza Brown, of Portland State University, and Jennifer Doolittle, of the Office of Special Education Programs in the U.S. Department of Education, and disseminated by the National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems (NCCRESt).

PDF Version

This 2008 brief discusses how RTI can be adapted for English Language Learners (ELL).  It provides an initial framework in the use of RTI that considers students’ life experiences, including their language proficiencies in their first and second language, as well as the contexts in which they are taught. The brief begins by explaining what RTI is, and how the three tiered model of instruction and intervention can be used with ELL students.  The brief then provides a detailed table of information for each tier that delineates guiding questions, instruction/intervention, service provider and necessary service provider skills.  The brief concludes with an overview of how RTI can help students in general, and ELL students in particular. This brief was written by Julie Esparza Brown, of Portland State University, and Jennifer Doolittle, of the Office of Special Education Programs in the U.S. Department of Education, and disseminated by the National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems (NCCRESt).

PDF Version

This series of professional learning modules, released by the National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems (NCCRESt), presents Response to Intervention (RTI) as a culturally responsive framework for ensuring evidence-based, high-quality opportunities to learn in inclusive settings for all students, including those who are culturally and linguistically diverse.  Together, the modules are designed to help participants become familiar with the basic structures and features of culturally responsive RTI, expand upon traditional views of what counts as evidence in research and practice, and design interventions that take into account the role of culture in teaching and learning.

HTML Version

This series of professional learning modules, released by the National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems (NCCRESt), presents Response to Intervention (RTI) as a culturally responsive framework for ensuring evidence-based, high-quality opportunities to learn in inclusive settings for all students, including those who are culturally and linguistically diverse. Together, the modules are designed to help participants become familiar with the basic structures and features of culturally responsive RTI, expand upon traditional views of what counts as evidence in research and practice, and design interventions that take into account the role of culture in teaching and learning.

HTML Version