2. Constitutionally based court findings have set precedents for the rights of all students to be educated in the General Education classroom. “Least Restrictive Environment”“Most Integrated Setting Appropriate” “Not Separate or Different”

3. Three Federal Laws that Protect Individuals with Disabilities and Ensure their Rights to Educational Opportunities With their Non-Disabled Peers: Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, (IDEA) 2004 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 1990

4. These Laws Set a Precedent for All Students, Not Just Those with Disabilities, to Have the Opportunity to be Educated Equally With their Peers and Disallow Any Child from Being Excluded, No Matter How Diverse from the General Population.

5. Reflect the Intent of the Law that Children with Disabilities be Educated with their Non-Disabled Peers to the greatest extent possible or appropriate. Inclusive Classroom Environments How have we decided to interpret these laws?

6. I nclusive Classroom Environments have been Gaining Momentum for More than 15 Years. Studies Indicate that Students Served Within an Inclusive Environment Earn Higher Grades, Achieve Higher or Comparable Scores on Standardized Tests, Reduce Behavior Infractions, and Attend More Days of School than Students Served Within a Full Pull-Out Program. p=mv

7. T eachers in Inclusive Schools Work Together to Implement Strategies that Maximize the Learning of All Students. These Strategies Include Cooperative Learning, Curriculum Adaptation, Peer Mediated Learning Approaches, Collaboration and Team-Teaching, Direct Instruction and Reciprocal Teaching, as well as Innovative forms of Accountability and Assessment.

10. Response to Intervention The RTI process is a multi-step approach to providing services and interventions to students who struggle with learning at increasing levels of intensity. The progress students make at each stage of intervention is closely monitored, and the results of this monitoring are used to make decisions about the need for further research-based instruction and/or intervention in general education, in a resource room, or both.

11. Why is RTI now being adopted by schools? Congress passed the revised Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) in 2004. This Federal legislation provides the guidelines that schools must follow when identifying children for special education services. Based on the changes in IDEIA 2004, the US Department of Education (USDE) updated its regulations to state education departments. The new USDE regulations: –Explicitly ALLOW states to use RTI to identify LD –FORBID states from forcing schools to use a ‘discrepancy model’ to identify LD

12. A student with significant academic delays would be administered a battery of tests, including an intelligence test, as well as one or more academic achievement tests. If the student was found to have a substantial gap between a higher IQ score and lower achievement scores, a formula was used to determine if that gap was statistically significant and severe. If the student had a severe discrepancy gap between IQ and achievement, he or she would be diagnosed with a Learning Disability. Prior to RTI, many states used a ‘Test-Score Discrepancy Model’ to identify Learning Disabilities.

13. Limitations to the Test-Score Discrepancy Model (Gresham, 2001): Requires chronic school failure BEFORE remedial/special education supports can be given. Fails to consider that outside factors such as poor or inconsistent instruction may contribute to a child's learning delay. A ‘severe discrepancy’ between test scores provides no useful information about WHY the student is doing poorly academically. Different states (and even school districts within the same state) often used different formulas to diagnose LD, resulting in a lack of uniformity in identifying children for special education support.

14. 80-90% Universal Instruction using Core Curriculum and Best Practices 5-10% Targeted Interventions 1-5% Intensive Intervention (IEP)

15. Differentiated Instruction: Step One: Know Your Students Determine Ability level (Pre-Assessment, Prior Performance Levels, etc.) Survey Student Interest Is Behavior a Problem (Implement Positive Incentive Plan) Step Two: Have a Repertoire of Teaching Strategies Direct Instruction Inquiry-Based Learning Cooperative Learning (Groups) Information Processing Strategies (KWL, scaffolding, graphic organizers, etc.) Step Three: Identify a Variety of RB Instructional Activities Step Four: Identify Ways to Assess & Evaluate Student Progress 80 – 90%

16. General Education Interventions Should Include: Targeted Intervention and Progress Monitoring Tier 2 remains a general education intervention and is an attempt by a student’s classroom teacher, with input from others, to resolve a problem before a referral is made for an individual evaluation. Data Collection Progress Monitoring and Evaluation measuring the effectiveness of intervention or need for referral Collaboration between general educators and special educators Measurable and Goal-Directed attempts to resolve concerns Communication with parents 5 – 10% Interventions require direct instruction and data collection to determine the effectiveness of the intervention. The premise behind this practice is that many concerns can be resolved by the classroom teacher resulting in the child remaining in general education classes.

17. Individual Education Plan (IEP) Individual Directives for Specific Delivery of More Intense Interventions, that include Accommodations, and/or Modifications These Services are Designed by the Planning Team and Provided within the General Education classroom, as well as Resource Room Environments 1-5%

19. Both are rooted in: Standard-Based Instruction Research-Based Instructional Methods Student-Centered Planning Multiple Avenues for Learning (Differentiation) Use of Best Practices and Materials Instruction Driven by Assessment Direct Instruction and Response to Intervention

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