Reading teachers may find themselves in new collaborations as changes to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) begin July 1, 2005. One significant difference in the 2004 IDEA legislation is the addition of intensive, early reading interventions that precede (and can be used to determine) placement in special education classrooms.
The shorthand term for this new process is RTI—response to intervention. Its goal is to reduce special education designations for children whose primary problem is with reading instruction.
Determining whether students were failing or whether classrooms were failing students is noted in the International Reading Association’s 2003 position statement on the overrepresentation of minority children in special education: “Data indicate, for example, that 80% of children referred for an SLD (specific learning disability) are referred because of reading problems. This is a substantial number of children because the SLDs account for approximately 50% of the children placed in special education.” (See the position statement section of IRA’s website at www.reading.org/resources/issues/ positions.html for details.)
Schools, of course, have experimented with RTI models well in advance of this federal regulation. Rather than waiting for struggling students to fail enough to qualify for special education services, teams of school professionals have drawn on areas of expertise to provide individualized, intensive, and effective reading instruction.
Congress’s conference report specifically mentions as exemplary the Help One Student to Succeed (HOSTS) language arts program, which is used in Texas, Ohio, Florida, Delaware, Michigan, and Louisiana. The report says that HOSTS programs have assisted schools in significantly improving student achievement and test results for all children, including children with disabilities, and in preventing mislabeling.
Additional exemplary models will be identified by the National Research Center on Learning Disabilities, a joint project of researchers at Vanderbilt University and the University of Kansas, and information will be disseminated at its website: http://nrcld.org.
The new law removes one barrier to collaborative approaches by providing more financial flexibility to local education agencies (LEAs). The act also authorizes up to 15% of IDEA funds to be used to provide pre-referral services to students and specifically mentions professional development targeted at training teachers and other school staff to deliver scientifically based literacy instruction.
IDEA did not set a specific timetable for schools to implement RTI, suggesting instead that changes be made “as soon as possible.” While some schools will make the transition quickly, others may await further guidance from the Department of Education, which is expected to release proposed regulations prior to a series of field hearings scheduled for June and July.
Among areas the regulations could clarify are RTI program elements, techniques, professional development tools, professional involvement, when children qualify for the RTI process, how and when progress will be determined, and how students will be assessed nonresponsive to intervention.
In field hearings earlier this year, IRA asked the Department of Education for a clear definition of what constitutes a RTI approach and for specific guidance about the working relationship between special education and general education teachers during the pre-referral period. IRA requested that the Department designate reading teachers as service providers in the RTI process. IRA also filed written recommendations as one of 14 associations comprising the Learning Disabilities Roundtable (www.ldanatl.org/pdf/2004round_table.pdf).
IRA has posted information about response to intervention on its website at http://www.reading.org/downloads/ resources/IDEA_RTI_report.pdf. IRA’s government relations office also plans to post an RTI guide for teachers that incorporates examples and a resource list of articles. The Washington office will assist any members planning comments for this summer’s field hearings. Contact the staff at 202-624-8800.
IDEA legislation adds response to intervention component. (June 2005). Reading Today, 22(6), 22.
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