RTII

Response to Intervention and Instruction

At the elementary level grades, Kindergarten through fifth, the children are initially identified for support through the Response to Intervention and Instruction (RTII) process. If students do not respond to interventions, they are referred to the psychologist for further assessment. The psychologist and team will administer additional assessments to obtain information for the MultiDisciplinary Team (MDT) in determining a disability and need for further interventions. This school year the District was granted approval to use RTI/SLD for reading and math in grades Kindergarten through fifth. This is a process the team worked very hard on and are very proud to have achieved this distinction when so few schools across the state meet the eligibility criteria. RTII is not widely used at our middle school and high school level, therefore, determination for eligibility in special education is based solely on the discrepancy model. Other factors are considered such as test scores, teacher input and observation.

A specific learning disability may be found if a child has a severe discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability in one or more of several areas: oral expression, written expression, listening comprehension or reading comprehension, basic reading skills, mathematics calculation, mathematics reasoning, or spelling. A "severe discrepancy" is defined to exist when achievement in one or more of the areas fall at or below 50% of the child's expected achievement level, when age and previous educational experiences are taken into consideration.

For more information on RTII and Special Education, please read the Grove City Special Education Plan.