Where Does Special Education Fit Within MTSS? Bill East, Ed.D., Executive Director National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE)

Where Does Special Education Fit Within MTSS? Everywhere! (But so does every other ED)

Special Education in MTSS: A Chronology              

Special Education: Leading by Convening Special Ed as a convener: Seeding RTI through special education Special Ed as a connector: Engaging key stakeholders in RTI Special Ed as a supporter: Enabling Gen Education to lead on RTI Special Ed as a partner: From RTI to MTSS Special Ed as an ally:  Working across systems for improved outcomes through ESSA and IDEA

Technical and Adaptive Challenges 9/21/2018 Technical and Adaptive Challenges Technical Adaptive Evidence Experts Manuals Tools Protocols Communication Influencers Understanding Agreement Willingness to make personal change

IDEA Partnership@NASDSE 2016 ... ad Not! Delicate Balance Technically Implemented Practically Adopted Culture Context Data Evidence IDEA Partnership: 2016

What We Know... We are much better on the technical side than the adaptive side We must learn to influence change The leadership journey in moving RTI and MTSS has taught us the importance of: learning what people know and believe Involving others from the start helping people to make a personal practice change creating opportunities for others to lead The leadership journey in moving RTI and MTSS has shown us the future!

Special Ed as a Convener: Seeding RTI through Special Education Looking back.... Important research and knowledgeable researchers funded through OSEP and State investments NASDSE as a partner in building awareness and support (Response to Intervention: Policy Considerations and Implementation, 2006) Forward leading states made investments in practice change

Special Ed as a Connector: Engaging Key Stakeholders in RTI Learning who has influence... Asking: Who leads practice change at the ground level? Where are the groups that they listen to? Making the case that RTI is good for all students Connecting RTI to outcomes for administrators and teachers and their national organizations

Special Ed as a Supporter: Enabling General Education to Lead on RTI The test of leadership: Sharing It. Asking ourselves: Can RTI take hold as a special ed. initiative? How do we become allies with general education in implementing RTI? How do we stay focused on students with disabilities in a system change?

Special Ed as a partner: From RTI to MTSS Translating the strategy for broad understanding and support: Tiered Systems What we do for all What we do for some What we do for a few Learning difference is NOT the same as disability Both academic achievement and behavior impact learning

Special Ed as an ally:  Working across systems for improved outcomes through ESSA and IDEA The challenge continues: Conveying: All students are general education students first! Thinking about special education as an important part of general education. Acknowledging what we know and what we have done to support a better system for all learners Reaching out to influencers as the decisions evolve to the state and local level under ESSA Attending to the technical and adaptive sides of every issue Learning from and with the stakeholders! Knowing: Relationships as the path to becoming allies.

Everybody is both a leader and a learner! The Lessons of Adaptive Leadership Learned through our Role in RTI and MTSS has shown us our future. We are stakeholders. Everybody is both a leader and a learner!

Stakeholders as Allies and Assets: Grounding Beliefs : IDEA Partnership@NASDSE 2016 Stakeholders as Allies and Assets: Grounding Beliefs : One of the key strategies promoted by the IDEA Partnership is surfacing grounding assumptions as a first step. Lets see how what we think and feel about our Grounding Assumptions. Is there agreement in concept? Do we see use in practice? Where is the breakdown? Do leaders falter? Do stakeholders falter? Our work is focused on helping leaders and stakeholders to recognize that they need each other.

The End