Response to Intervention

Response to Intervention
We are very fortunate in our school district to have a number of staff implementing evidence based intervention programs.  We should continue to look at whether these interventions can provide enough services for students without the need to place them in special education. 

Multiple special education staff with dual licensures have been provided to help provide these interventions.  Marla Hemke and Richelle Woller are two of these examples at MAES.  Multiple staff at MAMS are scheduled to provide services for general and special education students in pullout groups.  These help provide early intervening services for academic and behavioral supports across tiers without waiting for a child to be placed in special education to receive services. 

Within the RTI model it is important to determine whether a student can receive enough intervention services to meet their needs OR they do have a suspected disability by a member of an IEP team.  If there is a suspicion of a disability, then the child must be referred for special education eligibility otherwise we are denying them their due process procedural rights.

The RTI model for identification of a Learning Disability needs to be in place in each school building by December 2013. A link to updated frequently asked questions on this model is located here: http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/sped/pdf/sld-faq-2011.pdf

As a district we need to start having more discussion at each building to review the legal guidelines, determine where we are with staffing and interventions, and then look at a plan to be in full compliance. DPI has recommended and requiring that staff job descriptions and funding sources be accurate to reflect when a special education staff member is delivering regular education interventions.