ABSTRACT
Response to intervention (RTI), now more frequently referred to as multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), are school-wide systems that consist of multiple tiers of instructional and behavioral supports provided to students who are not succeeding in general education. Such systems usually have three or four tiers that increase the intensity of academic and behavioral support to students in the higher tiers. The goals of RTI and MTSS systems are to identify students with learning and behavioral challenges who are not succeeding in the general education setting and move them to a tier in which they are provided the type and degree of support they need to succeed. In this chapter I address RTI/MTSS systems and federal law. First, I examine the legal basis of RTI and MTSS in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Second, I explain guidance issued from the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) and the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) in the U.S Department of Education. Third, I address the Child Find requirements of the IDEA and how school personnel and officials may inadvertently violate the IDEA if they use their RTI/MTSS system in an inappropriate manner. Fourth, I review RTI/MTSS in the 2015 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which was titled the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Finally, I offer guidelines on how school district personnel can develop and implement RTI/MTSS systems that comport with federal law.
