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Response to intervention (RTI) is a critical process in a child's learning  because students must be serviced according to their academic needs using interventions and guidance throughout the process. Students must receive intervention when they are struggling in school; therefore RTI is needed to monitor the student’s progress and academics. If teachers do not follow the proper protocol and policies regarding RTI, legal issues may arise.

The presentation is from a counselors perspective in the field of elementary education. The audience is a group of counselors at a professional development, who are learning about the process and legality of Response to Intervention.
The topic I chose was the legal and ethical principals of response to interventions (RTI) and the responsibilities educators have to stay in compliance. I chose this topic because it is important to understand the responsibilities educators have in the process of RTI and the legality behind it.

I often find myself meeting counselors who carry the role of RTI at their school, therefore it is vital for counselors to be aware of the the process of RTI and its legalities. I chose to focus on RTI because there are many issues arising regarding testing, deadlines, communication and procedures. I'd like to learn more about the process, legality and principals behind RTI to better help others.

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I chose to interview our school's RTI specialist, Mrs. Myers. She is teacher specialist at Johnson Elementary. When speaking to Mrs. Myers, she mentioned the importance of RTI and its procedures. She spoke about how important it is to follow the RTI process because  if teachers do not follow the RTI procedures, students may struggle in their academics. Following the RTI process has a huge impact on a students academics because of the interventions that are needed to assist the student. RTI is also utilized for documentation if a referral is needed. RTI has the three tiered process which allows for grouping students into categories for intervention; Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 (E. Escamilia, personal communication, October 2, 2019)

The three best practices for RTI follow as:

Documentation: It is highly important for all those involved in the RTI process, to have open communication about the RTI process. As communication is vital, documentation is a requirement in the RTI process. The RTI process requires written documents indicating the tiers, interventions, student progress, and assessments.

Policies: Learning the school and district policies regarding RTI will ensure that all those involved have a clear understanding of the expectations of the RTI process.

RTI Team: The RTI team is important because the teacher, student, parent, administrator and counselor play a role in helping students and working together can create a smooth environment. It does take a team to complete the paperwork, implement the interventions and meet deadlines.

One issue emerging in the RTI process is that students are constantly measured by assessments and their performance on state testing. An issue with this form of measurement is there are other factors which should take into account, such as the students social and emotional well-being. Counselor involved in the RTI process can assist by helping students with any emotional issues which may affect student learning.

When speaking to Mrs. Escamilla, she mentioned the importance of staying in compliance within RTI. There is a process of RTI such as meeting deadlines, documenting student progress, following district policies, and implementing interventions. Mrs Escamilia mentioned 300 CFR, which states, " under the federal law,  evaluations of children suspected of having a disability are not delayed or denied because of schools using an RtI strategy" (Code of Federal Regulations, 2019)She also pointed out the rights of the parents. Parents have a right to request evaluation. They may also request for testing for their child by writing a letter stating their request.  She continues to grown in the field of RTI by attending informative professional developments.

Reference
Code of Federal Regulations. 34. C.F.R. § 300. (2019)

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The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) offers it's best practices for RTI and how counselors could assist with the process. Counselors may at times be asked to assist in the RTI process, there fore ASCA created a webinar to assist counselors with RTI (ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors, 2016).

Reference
American School Counselor Association. (2016). ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors. Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/Ethics/EthicalStandards2016.pdf

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Using Evidence-Based Practices in School Counseling

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Discover an efficient model for determining priorities for your school counseling program, and...

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The current event I chose to focus on was called, Here's What Makes or Breaks RTI and Other School Support Systems by Sarah Sparks.

In order for RTI to be effective, various factors must be taken into account when implementing RTI in schools.

Sparks stated, " how principals and district superintendents approach data use and coordination in the first year of implementation predicts how well schools will be able to sustain their support efforts" (Spark, 2018)

Utilizing effective practices contributed to sucess with RTI. These consisted of universal screening methods, evidence-based interventions, multiple "tiers" of intensity to increase support, and progress monitoring (Sparks, 2018)

Reference
Sparks, S. (2018). Here's what makes or breaks RTI and other school support systems. Education Week. Retrieved from http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/inside-school-research/2018/08/Positive_behavior_systems_support_sustainability.html

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Multitiered systems of support-including response to intervention and positive behavior interventions and support-have become almost ubiquitous among schools trying to find more personalized ways to support students' academic and behavior needs. But with a lot of moving parts, schools often struggle to make these complex systems effective in the long run.

But how principals and district superintendents approach data use and coordination in the first year of implementation predicts how well schools will be able to sustain their support efforts, according to a study in the journal Education Researcher.

In either behavior or academic contexts, these systems include: universal screening tools that allow teachers to identify which students need help; evidence-based interventions to get those students back on track; multiple "tiers" of intensity to increase support for students who don't improve; and progress monitoring, so that educators have the data on how well a student is responding to the extra help and can make changes if needed.

Researchers from the University of Oregon, Eugene; Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver analyzed implementation and data use among the staffs of 860 schools across 14 states that used or launched schoolwide positive behavior intervention and supports initiatives.

Two out of three schools were still using the support systems after three years, the researchers found. The overall enrollment or concentration of poor students in the schools did not predict whether or not a school continued to use PBIS, though elementary schools were generally more successful than secondary schools. But the researchers did find two very early indicators that flagged which schools would sustain their initiatives:

Team data use and implementation: In the first year, the schools whose PBIS teams most quickly collected, disaggregated, and shared student data with teachers and staff created what the researchers called "continuous regeneration ... wherein school teams adapt their implementation to fit more strongly with changed contexts and school population." This speedy data use proved the strongest marker of whether schools kept using the system three years later.

Critical mass: At the district level, the researchers also found that early in implementation, the more schools in a district that used the PBIS systems, the better all of the schools were able to implement and maintain the systems.

These practices seemed most important as schools worked through the bugs in the first five years of implementing the systems. More-experienced schools were better able to go it alone without a critical mass of other PBIS schools. And notably, once middle and high schools had implemented their systems of support for five years, they were as likely as elementary schools to continue.

The takeaway for district leaders, the researchers concluded, is to support clusters of schools being trained in PBIS systems together, and help them become fluent in analyzing and sharing student data as quickly as possible.
Related:
Want more research news? Get the latest studies and join the conversation. Follow @SarahDSparks

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positive behavior interventions and support

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Here's What Makes or Breaks RTI and Other School Support Systems

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Multitiered systems of support-including response to intervention and positive behavior interventions and support-have become almost ubiquitous among schools trying to find more personalized ways to support students' academic and behavior needs. But with a lot of moving parts, schools often struggle to make these complex systems effective in the long run.

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The article I focused on was called, Louisiana School District Boosts Student Learning And Cuts Costs Exponentially by Using MobyMax to Streamline RTI Assessments; 12,300 Students in 61 Schools Benefit by Amy Weiss.

The Louisiana's Caddo Parish School District received record-breaking results by using MobyMax to streamline its RT (Weiss, 2017)

The MobyMax curriculum,  incorporates the three essential components in which the National Center for Learning Disabilities says an effective RTI plan must have: tiered instruction and intervention, ongoing student assessment, and family involvement.(Weiss, 2017)

The program is designed to help all learners as it includes various interventions through blended learning.

Reference
Weiss, A. (2017). Louisiana school district boosts student learning and cuts costs exponentially by using mobymax to streamline RTI assessments; 12,300 students in 61 schools benefit. Education Drive.  Retrieved from
https://thejournal.com/articles/2017/01/11/louisiana-school-district-boosts-student-learning-and-cuts-costs-using-mobymax-curricula.aspx

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← Press Releases

Jan. 11, 2017 Louisiana's Caddo Parish School District achieved record-breaking results in the 2015-2016 school year by using MobyMax to streamline its RTI (Response to Intervention) Plans. MobyMax is the innovator of a unique personalized and blended learning curriculum for K-8 students. The curriculum and streamlined RTI plan enabled 12,300 students in 61 schools to complete 278,115 standards, a record for the school district.

The MobyMax curriculum, which works for struggling learners as well as high achievers, incorporates the three essential components the National Center for Learning Disabilities says an effective RTI plan must have: tiered instruction and intervention, ongoing student assessment, and family involvement.

Tiered instruction and intervention give teachers the tools and flexibility they need to isolate the skills and standards individual students must master. The MobyMax diagnostic suite helps teachers overcome one of their biggest challenges: identifying student learning gaps and assigning appropriate lessons to fill those gaps. Instant feedback and real-time monitoring also help keep students on track. Plus, parents and other caregivers can log in from home to stay involved in their child's learning.

MobyMax has also proven to be effective at helping schools that have an A rating continue to excel. "Since our district implemented MobyMax," says Principal Robin DeBusk of Caddo Middle Magnet, "we have seen an increase in our School Performance Score each year, which is not easy to accomplish."

"MobyMax is an excellent choice if you wish to help your struggling learners, yet still provide enrichment for your higher-achieving students," said Temeka Hardman-Seamster, one of the RTI Coaches in Caddo Parish. It allows teachers "the flexibility to meet the needs of all learners."

The school district also appreciates that it achieved such significant results at a substantial cost savings, primarily because MobyMax offers so many tools in one package. "By working with MobyMax, we achieved a huge, exponential reduction in cost for our district," reported Erin Redden, Director of Accountability and Instructional Support with Caddo Parish Public Schools.

Redden says she would recommend MobyMax to any school district in need of an affordable, adaptable, versatile, and proven online system to meet a broad spectrum of K-8 educational challenges.

To learn more about the school's use of MobyMax, download the Caddo Parish Spotlight. For more information about MobyMax, visit www.mobymax.com.
About MobyMax
MobyMax, the nation's leader in personalized learning curriculum for grades K-8, unlocks the power of personalized and blended learning to help students learn twice as fast. The company offers the only complete and comprehensive K-8 curriculum for 26 subjects, including math, reading, phonics, language, vocabulary, spelling, writing, science, social studies, and state test prep.

MobyMax finds and fixes learning gaps to help students increase one full grade level in just 40 hours. MobyMax's comprehensive solution includes diagnostic testing, assessments, progress monitoring, IEPs, student response system, whiteboard activities, and student motivation prizes, badges, and games. For the 2015-2016 school year, MobyMax was in active use in 73% of public elementary schools, middle schools, and junior high schools in the United States. Teachers have trusted MobyMax with more than 22 million students.

MobyMax envisions a new reality in which every child in every school in every country learns as fast as if they had the best teacher in the world sitting beside them. MobyMax's mission is to create a global, research-powered curriculum that enables every child everywhere to learn twice as fast.

For more information, visit www.mobymax.com.

###

Contact: Amy Weiss, [email protected] , 813-603-4128

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Louisiana School District Boosts Student Learning And Cuts Costs Exponentially by Using MobyMax to Streamline RTI Assessments; 12,300 Students in 61 Schools Benefit

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← Press Releases Jan. 11, 2017 Louisiana's Caddo Parish School District achieved record-breaking results in the 2015-2016 school year by using MobyMax to streamline its RTI (Response to Intervention) Plans. MobyMax is the innovator of a unique personalized and blended learning curriculum for K-8 students.

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Students can be referred for an evaluation for services by having a parent provide written consent to begin an evaluation. (19 TAC § 149.)

Students should receive support from the classroom teacher to better meet their needs. Students would have needed to be listed in the RTI process as a beginning step. If students continue to struggle, the teachers must follow the proper protocol for referring the student.

The parent may submit a written request to have her child tested. The district will have 15 days to respond to the parent. This is important information because it requires the school to provide a response to parents within 15 days.

RTI is a process and there are many members who make up an RTI team, such as teachers, RTI specialist, parents, students and administrators. Therefore, it is crucial to have a committed line of communication.

Reference
Teacher Standards, 19. Tex. Admin. Code § 149.

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Education rules concerning special education services

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The Bill allows students outside of Special Education to receive services through RTI. Several changes will help parents gain an understanding of the RTI process. It will entail educational agencies to inform parents when their child is receiving intervention strategies and services.

The Bill allows parents to be updated with the procedures for services and RTI. This is vital in the RTI process because it allows students who are struggling to receive services, even though they are not included in the Special Education category.

Reference
Act of [2017], Tex. S.B. #, 85th R.S., ch. #1153, 2017.

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Texas Legislature Online - 85(R) Text for SB 1153

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The teacher is a participant in developing an IEP regarding support for the child, academically and behavior as well.  The teacher must provide support using strategies, interventions, assessments, observations and research based interventions to better meet the student’s needs.

During the RTI process, if the parents have any questions or concerns regarding a student’s progress, they may view the child’s IEP’s to see which services the student is provided as well as the evaluation process and eligibility process.

Rerefence
Education of Individuals with Disabilities, 20 USC § 1414(a)

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Parental Consent is very important when requesting testing to be sure the parents are providing a written request.

For students who are having a difficult time in their academics and are in need of more interventions during the RTI process, a parent must be submit a written request before any screenings and evaluations can be initiated.

This is important because many parents during the RTI process request testing informally, by speaking about it and not following through with it. At times, parents do not remember if they requested, therefore written request provide documentation for all involved in the RTI process.

Reference
Early Childhood Intervention Services, 40. Tex. Admin. Code § 108.207

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(a) Written parental consent provides documentation that the parent has been informed of and agrees, in writing, to the proposed action. Consent is voluntary and can be withdrawn by the parent at any time. Any action for which the parent has withdrawn consent must be stopped immediately. (b) In addition to the requirements in 34 CFR §303.420, written parental consent must be obtained before: (1) beginning any screening, except when performing a developmental screening on a child in the conservatorship of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services; (2) conducting any evaluation or assessment procedures; (3) providing early childhood intervention services listed in the IFSP; (4) changing the type, intensity, or frequency of early childhood intervention services; (5) contacting medical professionals and other outside sources to coordinate and gather information about the child and family; (6) reporting personally identifiable information, including disposition of referral, electronically to statewide databases unless release is authorized without consent in FERPA; or (7) releasing personally identifiable information except as allowed by §108.241 of this title (relating to Release of Records). (c) As required by 34 CFR §303.420(b), the contractor must adopt procedures designed to inform the parent of the nature of the recommended assessment or evaluation procedures and recommended early childhood intervention services that the parent has refused. The procedures may include: (1) providing the parent relevant literature or other materials; and (2) offering the parent peer counseling to enhance their understanding of the value of early childhood intervention and the inability to participate in Part C programs without consent. (d) If a specific assessment or service is determined necessary by the IFSP team, the contractor may not limit or deny that assessment or service because the parent has refused consent for another service or assessment.

Source Note: The provisions of this §108.207 adopted to be effective September 1, 2011, 36 TexReg 5387; amended to be effective July 1, 2012, 37 TexReg 4621; amended to be effective June 30, 2019, 44 TexReg 3280

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(a) Written parental consent provides documentation that the parent has been informed of and agrees, in writing, to the proposed action. Consent is voluntary and can be withdrawn by the parent at any time. Any action for which the parent has withdrawn consent must be stopped immediately.

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The Houston Independent School district provides parents and students with a Code of Conduct which offers a section regarding the RTI policy. The policy states, "for those students who are having difficulty in the regular classroom, all school districts and open enrollment charter schools must consider tutorial, compensatory, and other academic or behavior support services that are available to all students, including a process based on Response to Intervention (RTI)" (Houston Independent School District Code of Conduct, 2019). The district believes the RTI process has many benefits in helping students who are struggling.  Interventions must be in place during the RTI process to ensure students are receiving the aid needed.

Reference
Houston Independent School District. (2019, August ) Student code of conduct. Retrieved from Angelo State University. (2017, July 10). Affirmative Action Plan, OP 16.01. Retrieved from http://www.angelo.edu/content/files/14247-op-1601-affirmative-action-plan

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"Each student in HISD public schools is responsible for exhibiting the highest standards of behavior to create a positive and welcoming school atmosphere. The HISD Code of Student Conduct defines systemwide expectations for student behavior and provides means for constructive student-administrator relationships."
- HISD Student Congress 2014-2015

The Houston Independent School District has established as one of its primary goals the provision of a high-quality educational program for each student in a safe school environment free of disruptions that interfere with the educational process. The purpose of this Code of Student Conduct is to inform all school staff, students, and parents of HISD's expectations regarding behavior and conduct. The Code, reviewed and approved by the HISD Board of Education, is based on the policies of the Board of Education and Administrative Regulations. Administrative Regulations communicates District administrative procedures and practices.

This Code was developed to protect the rights of all students by:

providing a districtwide discipline management plan

specifying the behavior that is expected of all students

describing the broad range of student misconduct and providing appropriate disciplinary consequences or options for the various kinds of misconduct

outlining student rights relating to school

listing procedures that must be followed when applying consequences

School staff, students, and parents are expected to become familiar with the provisions of the districtwide Code of Student Conduct and the rules and regulations adopted and implemented by individual schools based on their School-Based Discipline Management System. Students are also expected to abide by the policies set forth in the Code so that they can get the most out of their years in school.

Changes to the Code this year include the following:

Offering substance addiction education, assessment, and, if indicated, community-based treatment alternatives for first-time drug or alcohol offenses as an alternative to a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP) referral.

Offering summer school, weekend activities, community projects, or summer jobs that will allow students with discretionary offenses to return to their home campus instead of beginning the new school year in the DAEP.

Moving most non-statutory Level IV offenses to Level III and identifying them as offenses with an elevated safety risk to the campus.

Aligning suspension practices with FO (LOCAL) regarding prohibition of informal suspensions.

Rephrasing section titles and descriptions to better align with HISD discipline and educational objectives.

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"Each student in HISD public schools is responsible for exhibiting the highest standards of behavior to create a positive and welcoming school atmosphere. The HISD Code of Student Conduct defines systemwide expectations for student behavior and provides means for constructive student-administrator relationships."

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According the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), counselors use data to determine needed interventions, which are then delivered to help close the information, attainment, achievement and opportunity gaps (ASCA Ethical Standards for Counselors, 2016).  Counselors are often given many roles on a campus and as mentioned on the ASCA Ethical Standards, we serve our students by meeting our students needs. Data can be used to assist with meeting their needs and provide interventions.
Reference
American School Counselor Association. (2016). ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors. Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/Ethics/EthicalStandards2016.pdf

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An effective website which offers information regarding RTI can be found below. The website gives insight on the RTI process and a parental involvement section for parents. Other topics include, tracking student progress, benefits,  and an intervention plan.
Reference
Morin, A. (2019). Understanding Response to Intervention. Understood. Retrieved from https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/special-services/rti/understanding-response-to-intervention#Will_the_school_give_us_a_written_intervention_plan?

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RTI aims to identify kids who are struggling in school.

It uses targeted teaching to help them catch up.

An important part of RTI is measuring progress and providing more support to kids who need it.

If you look inside any general education classroom, chances are good that you'd see different students struggling for different reasons. It can be hard for a teacher to tell right away which students are struggling or why.

Response to intervention (RTI) aims to identify struggling students early on and give them the support they need to thrive in school. The word intervention is key to understanding what RTI is all about. The goal is for the school to intervene, or step in, and start helping before a student falls really far behind.

Teachers can provide targeted teaching - called interventions - to help struggling students catch up. A big part of the RTI process involves closely monitoring student progress. That way the school can see which students need more academic support.

RTI isn't a specific program or type of teaching. It's a proactive approach: RTI measures students' skills and uses this data to decide which interventions to use.

Dive deeper

The RTI process begins with a teacher assessing the skills of everyone in the class. This helps the school's RTI teams tell which students need instructional interventions. That's the term for focusing on specific skills in trying to improve them.

Interventions can be part of class-wide instruction. The teacher may break students into small groups. These groups are tailored for different skill levels or learning interests.

Students who don't make enough progress getting this kind of help during class may start to work on skills in small groups that meet during enrichment activities like music or art.

As part of the RTI process, schools help struggling students by using teaching interventions that researchers have studied and shown to be effective. Many of them deal with reading. But there are also some proven methods of improving writing and math skills. Some schools also use research-based behavior interventions.

Read more about instructional interventions .

Another essential component of RTI is called progress monitoring. That means that teachers frequently assess students' skills to decide whether an intervention is working.

During an intervention, a teacher or other member of the RTI team uses an assessment tool that measures certain skills. They assess the skills every week or every other week. That may sound like a lot of testing. But each assessment only takes a few minutes to complete.

Learn more about progress monitoring .

There's no single way of doing RTI, but it's often set up as a three-tiered system of support. Some school districts call this framework a multi-tiered system of supports, or MTSS , instead of RTI.

Think of this tiered system as a pyramid, with the intensity of support increasing from one level to the next:

Get deeper information about the three tiers of support .

RTI isn't a special education program. But it can help general education teachers pick up on early signs that kids are struggling. It also plays a key role in helping schools figure out who qualifies for special education.

Federal law says that when deciding if a student is eligible for special education, the school district can use a "process that determines if the child responds to scientific, research-based intervention." That's one of the reasons many states use RTI.

If a student qualifies for special education, the RTI interventions used can help the school decide which services and supports to include in the IEP .

There are a few other key things to keep in mind about the relationship between RTI and special education:

RTI can't be used to reduce a student's workload. That kind of modification may be used for some special education students, but not for general education students.

If a student is getting extra help through RTI, it doesn't mean a family has to wait to request a special education evaluation. They have the right to ask for an evaluation at any time.

As part of the evaluation, the school can gather information from the RTI process, like screening and progress monitoring data. But they still have to follow the time frame of completing an initial evaluation within 60 days of getting parent consent.

Learn about evaluations for special education .

RTI is effective for lots of reasons. For one, it can help more kids thrive in general education classrooms.

It can also help schools save special education resources for kids who truly need them. Many students performing below grade level don't have disabilities. Through the RTI process, they can make progress without special education services.

Here are some other reasons why RTI is beneficial:

Students continue to get their core instruction in the general education classroom with their peers.

It's not a "wait and see" approach. Students can start to get extra help before falling so far behind that they have to go to summer school or repeat a grade.

If a student is referred for special education services, there's already documentation about which type of instruction has not been helpful.

If a school doesn't use RTI, families can still ask for extra help . But it might not be provided as extensively or as systematically as it would in a school that uses RTI.

Schools aren't required to give families a written intervention plan. All the school needs to tell families about RTI is:

But many schools provide much more information. That's because they know that parent involvement plays a big role in helping kids thrive in school. In fact, some schools are already in the habit of giving parents a written intervention plan.

If the school doesn't automatically provide a written plan, families can ask for one. It might include:

A description of the skills the child struggles with, and documentation about these challenges, like assessment results or work samples

A description of the research-based intervention the child is getting

Details about how often the intervention will be provided and for what length of time - how many minutes per day over how many weeks

Details about who will be providing the intervention and in which schoolroom

The criteria for determining whether the intervention is successful

A description of how progress monitoring works and how often progress will be measured

Get answers to other common questions about RTI .

Requesting a written intervention plan can help you take an active role in RTI. But there are other ways you can be involved in the process:

Remember that RTI is a fluid process. At any time during the school year, you can talk to the teacher and find out which interventions are available to help your child.

Ask the school for more information about the intervention your child is receiving, like which studies show it is effective.

Ask the school to give you a copy of your child's progress monitoring graph after every assessment.

Give the intervention time to work. To know if it's helping, the school needs data. Wait at least a few weeks before you ask the school if it's time to try something different.

Ask the school how you can help your child at home.

If you think your child's skills aren't improving, you may want to request an evaluation for special education. Remember that you can make this request at any time.

Use this list of questions to learn about your school's RTI process .

About the Author

About the Author

worked as a classroom teacher and as an early intervention specialist for 10 years. She is the author of Amanda Morin The Everything Parent's Guide to Special Education. Two of her children have learning differences.

Reviewed by

Reviewed by

Elaine M. Niefeld, MA, MBA is a consultant and former associate director of the RTI Action Network.

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RTI aims to identify kids who are struggling in school. It uses targeted teaching to help them catch up. An important part of RTI is measuring progress and providing more support to kids who need it. If you look inside any general education classroom, chances are good that you'd see different students struggling for different reasons.

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Slide #13 Recommendations / Best Practices for Compliance

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Slide #13 Recommendations / Best Practices for Compliance

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The following are the best practices and recommendations for legal compliance:

Understanding how interventions for students who have learning disabilities is key in the RTI process. According to the Code of Federal Regulations,  "Specific learning disabilities. (a) General. A State must adopt, consistent with §300.309, criteria for determining whether a child has a specific learning disability as defined in §300.8(c)(10). In addition, the criteria adopted by the State— (2) Must permit the use of a process based on the child’s response to scientific, research-based intervention" (34 CFR § 300.307)

The provisions require that “if the child has participated in a process that assesses the child’s response to scientific, research-based intervention, the documentation of  the determination of eligibility must contain a statement of the documentation—and here comes (a)(7)(ii)—that the parents were notified about:  (C) The parents’ right to request an evaluation. (34 CFR §300.311). It is very important for educators to follow through with the RTI process and evaluations. To stay in compliance, RTI members must have communication with the parent regarding interventions and evaluations.

The Federal regulations under 34 CFR §300.309(c) require that if a child has not made adequate progress after an appropriate period of time, a referral for an evaluation must be made (34 CFR §300.309) It is important for the RTI team to monitor the students progress to determine is a referral is needed.

It is vital for educators to meet deadlines and initial evaluations within the correct time frame to avoid any noncompliance issues. 34 CFR §300.301(c), an initial evaluation must be conducted within 60 days of receiving consent for an evaluation (34 CFR §300.3011) Educators must stay in compliance by following the proper steps needed to assist parents in meeting their request.

States and LEAs have an obligation and requirement under federal law (34 CFR § 300.111 Child Find) to see that evaluations of children suspected of having a disability are not delayed or denied because of schools using an RTI strategy (34 CFR §300.311).

In addition to §300.311, its is vital to ensure that the parents of a child suspected of having an SLD who has participated in a process that evaluates the child’s  response to scientific, research-based intervention, are notified about the State’s policies regarding collection of child performance data and the general education services that will be provided; strategies to increase their child’s rate of learning; and their right to request an evaluation at any time. (71 § CFR 46658)

References

Determining the existence of a specific learning disability, 34 CFR §300.309

Federal Regulations, 71 § CFR 46658
Initial Evaluations, 34 CFR §300.301

Special Disabilities, 34 CFR § 300.307

Specific Documentation for the Eligibility Determination, 34 CFR § 300.311