The researcher briefly reviewed the Response to Intervention (RtI) framework and explained how Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA, 2004) and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) enhanced RtI implementation in general education classrooms. The main focus of this paper is to identify general educators' roles when implementing RtI…

In this issue of "Learning Disability Quarterly" (LDQ), Professors Daves and Walker reply to my earlier LDQ article on confusion in the cases and commentary about the legal dimension of RTI. In this brief rejoinder, I show that their reply confirms rather than resolves the confusion in their original commentary in 2010. This persistent…

High schools throughout this country are as heterogeneous as the students they serve in size, location, tax base, student make-up, and teacher quality. However, they must all follow the mandates of NCLB and IDEA. While these policies affect all schools, high schools continue to face many challenges implementing these laws effectively for students…

The change in allowing school districts to use the more prevalent discrepancy model or the new addition of response to intervention to determine whether a disability is present has sparked discussion among educators. As districts decide which method to use, it is important to base decisions on factual and researched information. The authors hope…

Noting that 60 percent of both fourth and eighth graders currently struggle with reading, this report urges the U.S. Congress to focus on students' literacy development from early childhood through grade twelve as it works to rewrite of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), currently known as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). In…

Response to intervention (RTI) can be considered an everyday practice in many parts of the United States, whereas, in Finland, only recently has a new framework for support in learning taken shape. Choosing Finland as the comparative partner for this policy paper is justified as its educational system has been widely referenced on the basis of…

Professional confusion, as well as case law confusion, exists concerning the fidelity and integrity of response to intervention (RTI) as a defensible procedure for identifying children as having a specific learning disability (SLD) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Division is generated because of conflicting mandates…

The purpose of this mixed methods research is to examine teachers' perspectives on the response to intervention (RTI) framework and its implementation in Michigan and Texas schools. Both states have been leaders in literacy, increasing preservice and in-service teacher certification standards and developing similar batteries for assessing literacy…

Changes in the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) have opened a door to a new outlook on educational services in both general education and special education. Response to Intervention (RTI) is an answer to the changes prescribed in that legislation. RTI is a promising framework for education…

Two recent changes in federal law have made an impact on reading instruction in the United States, particularly for students for whom learning to read is difficult. The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), signed into law in 2002, requires that all students meet an achievement standard in reading by the year 2014. NCLB also recognizes that reading…

The 2004-05 school year didn't start off well for the Sanger Unified School District. The district, located east of Fresno, had entered its first year of "program improvement"--a gentler way of saying that Sanger was among the 98 lowest-performing districts in the state based on success criteria in the No Child Left Behind law. The…

Response to Intervention (RtI) consists of multi-tiered instructional delivery systems in which educators provide research-based interventions to students that increase in intensity depending on students' instructional response. RtI is currently being implemented in schools across the United States. RtI's shift away from standardized testing…

As Response to Intervention (RtI) approaches become more common in educational systems throughout the country, it is increasingly important to identify how practitioners perceive these changes and how they obtain the skills necessary to face emergent roles and responsibilities. In this exploratory study, a national sample of 557 school…

Response to Intervention (RTI) is an instructional framework through which schools can provide early intervention for students experiencing academic and behavioral difficulties. It is also promoted as an alternative to the IQ-discrepancy model for identifying students with learning disabilities. Most states have developed, or are developing,…

Reading difficulties and disabilities present serious and potentially lifelong challenges. Children who do not read well are more likely to be retained a grade in school, drop out of high school, become a teen parent, or enter the juvenile justice system. Building on the extant research and seminal studies, including the National Reading Panel and…