Response to intervention Lawyer Manual

Response to Intervention (RtI)

RtI is a general education approach to early identification and support of students with learning and behavioral needs. RtI utilizes differentiated instructional strategies for all learners and provides scientific, research-based interventions, while continuously measuring student performance and making educational decisions based on a student’s response to the interventions. Under RtI, struggling learners get interventions at increasing levels of intensity (or “tiers”) to accelerate the rate of learning and performance. In 2008, Illinois created a State Response to Intervention Plan, requiring districts to develop RtI plans. Under RtI, students not making expected progress should be moved up to the next “tier” where additional supports would be implemented. Ultimately, all students not making adequate progress under the RtI tiers should eventually be referred for a special education evaluation, under the district’s “Child Find” obligations. Parents should be informed when their child moves from one tier to another, when their child is not making expected progress, and when their child is identified as at-risk.

The RtI process is separate from the process for requesting a special education evaluation. Every student is screened for the need for potential interventions in addition to the core curriculum, whereas parents or the school request a special education evaluation. However, the failure to make progress and the data collected through RtI can be used as part of the evaluation process when determining whether a student is eligible for special education services, and is particularly necessary when evaluating for a learning disability.

One problem that has emerged in the implementation of RtI is that there are no hard and fast timelines as to when any of this will occur and the reality is that students could get stalled in the RtI process for months or even years without an evaluation occurring. The Illinois Administrative Code makes it clear that a student’s participation in RtI should not serve as a basis to deny a request for a special education evaluation, although schools routinely use this as a basis for denial anyway. See 23 Ill. Admin. Code §226.130(b). Hence, if a parent suspects that their child has a learning disability, they can request an evaluation at any time, regardless of where the child is in the RtI process, and the school should not use the need to “finish RtI” as a basis for denying the request.

Learn more on the Illinois State Board of Education website under the heading "Response to Intervention."