Response to Intervention & MTSS

When you first notice signs of struggle, whether it be social, emotional, behavioral, or academic difficulties, communicate with your child's teacher. Ask about MTSS (Multi-Tiered Systems of Support) /RTI (Response to Intervention). This will begin a discussion regarding the kinds of support services your child may already be receiving or may be eligible for. **


MTSS (Multi-Tiered Systems of Support) addresses academic as well as social and emotional areas (non-academic), including behavior and other topics such as attendance. MTSS is a distinct approach that builds upon the original concept of tiered support.

Successful MTSS implementation is a highly complex process that involves the following tasks:

  • Gathering accurate and reliable data

  • Correctly interpreting and validating data

  • Using data to make meaningful instructional changes for students

  • Establishing and managing increasingly intensive tiers of support

  • Evaluating the process at all tiers to ensure the system is working


MTSS decisions are made using a team-based process. For example, the steps in the process described above should be coordinated through an MTSS building leadership team. The MTSS building leadership team is responsible for coordinating and communicating all MTSS implementation efforts for the building. The MTSS building leadership team uses a problem-solving process at both the system and student levels. For example, at the system level, the team might ask, is the core instruction effective? At the student level, the team would ask which students need additional support? Teams look at both system and student-level problems by asking 1) What is the problem? 2) Why is the problem occurring? 3) What should we do about the problem? and 4) Did our solution work?

MTSS Underlying Values and Guiding Principles to promote consistency, integrity and sustainability:

  • Unwavering Focus on Student Growth - Decisions driven by ambitious student performance goals

  • Cultural Responsive and Equity Focused

  • Engaged Stakeholders: Voices of family, community, and school staff actively involved in decision making

  • Whole Child/Whole School Approach

  • Positive Problem Solving

  • Full Access for ALL Students - MTSS is for ALL STUDENTS. Not every student who receives Intensive Support (Tier 3) is identified as a student with a disability, and not every student identified with a disability needs intensive support in all areas.

MTSS Core Components:

  • Team Approach - Multidisciplinary team collaborates to use a consistent district wide problem solving process to monitor the impact of MTSS and identify needs for adjustments

  • Tiered Supports

  • Leadership Support

  • Engaged Stakeholders

  • Continuum of Instruction and Interventions

  • Data Driven Problem Solving


Response to Intervention Defined

Response to Intervention (RtI) functions as a significant educational strategy or framework designed to identify students who may be at-risk for substandard academic performance and intervene by providing supplemental interventions targeted to their learning needs.


Legislative Background

In September of 2007, the NYS Board of Regents approved multiple amendments to 8 NY Code of Rules and Regulations that requires schools to establish an RtI policy and procedures for students in grades K-4 in the area of literacy. These amendments established a policy framework for RtI in regulations relating to school-wide screenings, minimum components of RtI programs, parent notification, and the use of RtI to identify students with learning disabilities. By adding Section 100.2(ii) to Part 100 of the Commissioner’s Regulations it set forth minimum requirements for using a RtI process to determine a student’s response to research-based intervention.

Minimum Requirements. The Regents policy framework for RtI:

1. Defines RtI to minimally include:

• Appropriate instruction delivered to all students in the general education class by qualified personnel. Appropriate instruction in reading means scientific research-based reading programs that include explicit and systematic instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary development, reading fluency (including oral reading skills) and reading comprehension strategies.

• Screenings applied to all students in the class to identify those students who are not making academic progress at expected rates.

• Instruction matched to student need with increasingly intensive levels of targeted intervention and instruction for students who do not make satisfactory progress in their levels of performance and/or in their rate of learning to meet age or grade level standards.

• Repeated assessments of student achievement which should include curriculum based measures to determine if interventions are resulting in student progress toward age or grade level standards.

• The application of information about the student’s response to intervention to make educational decisions about changes in goals, instruction and/or services and the decision to make a referral for special education programs and/or services.

• Written notification to the parents when the student requires an intervention beyond that provided to all students in the general education classroom that provides information about the:

  • amount and nature of student performance data that will be collected and the general education services that will be provided;

  • strategies for increasing the student’s rate of learning; and parents’ right to request an evaluation for special education programs and/or services

2. Requires each school district to establish a plan and policies for implementing school-wide approaches and prereferral interventions in order to remediate a student’s performance prior to referral for special education, which may include the RtI process as part of a district’s school-wide approach. The school district must select and define the specific structure and components of its RtI program, including, but not limited to the:

  • criteria for determining the levels of intervention to be provided to students,

  • types of interventions,

  • amount and nature of student performance data to be collected, and

  • manner and frequency for progress monitoring.

[8 NYCRR section 100.2(ii)]

3. Requires each school district implementing an RtI program to take appropriate steps to ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills necessary to implement a RtI program and that such program is implemented consistent with the specific structure and components of the model.

[8 NYCRR section 100.2(ii)]

4. Authorizes the use of RtI in the State's criteria to determine learning disabilities (LD) and requires, effective July 1, 2012, that all school districts have an RtI program in place as part of the process to determine if a student in grades K-4 is a student with a learning disability in the area of reading. “Effective on or after July 1, 2012, a school district shall not use the severe discrepancy criteria to determine that a student in kindergarten through grade four has a learning disability in the area of reading.”

[8 NYCRR section 200.4(j)]

In addition to the above RtI requirements, regulations adopted by the Regents regarding screening of students with low test scores now require a review of the students’ instructional programs in reading and mathematics to ensure that explicit and research validated instruction is being provided in reading and mathematics.

• Students with low test scores must be monitored periodically through screenings and on-going assessments of the student’s reading and mathematics abilities and skills.

• If the student is determined to be making substandard progress in such areas of study, instruction shall be provided that is tailored to meet the student’s individual needs with increasingly intensive levels of targeted intervention and instruction.

• School districts must provide written notification to parents when a student requires an intervention beyond that which is provided to the general education classroom. Such notification shall include: information about the performance data that will be collected and the general education services that will be provided; strategies for increasing the student’s rate of learning; and the parents’ right to request an evaluation by the Committee on Special Education to determine whether the student has a disability.

An RtI process as described above will meet the section 117.3 requirements to ensure a student’s progress toward meeting the State’s standards.

Adapted from RtI action network : What’s Your Plan? Accurate Decision Making within a Multi-Tier System of Supports


What is progress monitoring, and why is it important?


Progress Monitoring - For BOTH MTSS & RtI are required:


  • Progress monitoring is a process, the uses data to understand how a student is doing once an intervention plan is underway.

  • Done early and often, progress monitoring ensures that time is used purposefully and resources of interventions are not continued when the data shows it is not working.

  • Depending on an intervention, progress monitoring may take place on a weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly basis. You can progress monitor using many types of data.




FAQ: My doctor wrote a prescription for services - will Rondout staff provide them?

When your doctor writes a script for services, in the absence of a CSE referral or evaluation, the best place to start is by asking about MTSS/RTI with your child's educational team. See top of page. **