Since the Response to Intervention (RTI) process was referred to in the IDEA regulations as a means of identifying a student as having a specific learning disability, there has been confusion whether school districts can require students to proceed through the RTI process before allowing an evaluation to determine a child’s eligibility for special education services. The process was confused despite the fact that the IDEA regulations at 34 CFR 300.304(b) clearly state that a parent can request an initial evaluation at any time and the evaluation must be completed within 60 days of the parents consent. On January 21, 2011 the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) issued a Memorandum to: State Directors of Special Education clarifying that the RTI process cannot be used to delay or deny a student’s eligibility for special education services under the IDEA.
The memorandum identifies the RTI process as a multi-tiered instructional framework that addresses the needs of all students, including struggling learners and students with disabilities. OSEP says that “With a multi-tiered instructional framework, schools identify students at-risk for poor learning outcomes, monitor student progress, provide evidence-based interventions, and adjust the intensity and nature of those interventions depending on a student’s responsiveness.”
But the memorandum notes that “it has come to the attention of OSEP that, in some instances, local education agencies (LEAs) may be using Response to Intervention (RTI) strategies to delay or deny a timely evaluation for children suspected of having a disability.” If the school district suspects a student has a disability and the district receives a referral for an evaluation, it must seek parental consent for an evaluation within a reasonable time.
Once parental consent is obtained, the evaluation must be completed within 60 days. If, however, the district does NOT suspect the student has a disability, the district may deny the parent’s request. In that event, the school district must provide the parents with notice of the reasons for denying their request for an evaluation and their due process rights. The memorandum then clearly states that it is inconsistent with the evaluation procedures in the IDEA at 34 CFR 300.301 through 300.111 for a school district “to reject a referral and delay the provision of an initial evaluation on the basis that a child has not participated in the RTI framework.”
I frequently receive calls from parents that school staff are insisting their child complete the RTI process, despite the parent’s request for an initial evaluation and despite the IDEA fairly clearly stating parents can request an initial evaluation at any time. So, it is one of my fondest wishes that this memorandum clarifies, once and for all, that school districts cannot use RTI strategies to delay or deny a timely evaluation for children suspected of having a disability.
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Filed under: children with disabilities, Disability Law, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Special Education Law
Thanks for posting the RtI and evaluation information. This will be very helpful!
You’re very welcome Shirley and thank you for taking the time to comment on my post. I know many parents are still mistakenly told they must wait for the RTI process to run its course before their children can be evaluated for special education eligibility.
The clarification they’ve provided is great – the key will be how aggressive school districts are with getting this information into the hands of their special education personnel and administrators at the building level.
I agree 100% Michael and thank you for taking the time to provide a comment.
What if, a child meets all of the eligibility requirements yet the district refuses an IEP to use RTI process, and to add more RTI services instead of an IEP?
For example, my son, age 7, was determined last year to be eligible in Kindergarten for an SLD but I was told no IEP because he was exposed to domestic violence, and has never been exposed to school before. He was diagnosed at UC Davis Mind Institute with Pragmatic Language Disorder in kindergarten (5th%ile.) This year we were told he was found eligible but that they would not give him one because he has been absent 9 days out of 120 (aka: environmental disadvantage even though he is documented with ASTHMA and has play therapy every Tuesday) and that he is the youngest of 5 kids. But that they would give him 7 different services for his special needs: 2 reading programs, 1 math, 1 writing, 1 articulation, 1 social stories(pragmatics), and 1 social group.
His IQ is 145, yet my son isn’t reading or writing near grade level… and they told us he is underachieving because reading, writing, and math are not his “preferred” activities.
My oldest son is Asperger’s, all three of my boys are diagnosed with Pragmatic Language Disorder. My oldest daughter is SLD in Auditory Processing and Dyscalculia.
Can they deny an IEP after evaluation to use RTI instead?
Hi Emily,
If a child is determined to have a disailbity under the IDEA and is, therefore, eligilble for special education, the school district must identify and provide services through the IEP process. So, if your son was identified as having a Specific Learning Disability (SLD), he should have received services based on an IEP. RTI, as it relates to special edcuation and the IDEA, is one process to identify children as having an SLD. RTI, under the IDEA, is NOT a service delivery model. By the way, I received my undergradute degree for UC Davis and it is a fine school.
I *heart* UC Davis MIND Institute. They took all the information from the schools, and issues at home and really helped me make sense of it all. Now if I could just get the school to follow the standards IDEA set forth.
I did email this memo to the school principal, hoping that he sees what the student support services is doing goes against the principles of IDEA.
I also let him know yesterday that for my older two boys, both have formal investigations going on by the state for non-compliance and violations. I told him I really don’t want to file another because I don’t have issues with the schools themselves, just the policies of LEA/SELPA at the district level.
Hi Randy,
I understand why people keep asking this question. I am both a parent of a child with a disability and a special Ed. related service provider.
If a parent asks for an evaluation before enough data has been collected through the RTI process, the child has a right to the “evaluation” however, the child will not be found eligible for SLD without enough data. So, what good is it for an “evaluation” to take place? I still don’t get it. The data is required for the SLD determination, however, if it does not exist (I.E. child has not had sufficient interventions) then what? At the school where I work, we do tell parents to let us try a few more interventions before proceeding with SPED referral. We know if we move forward with the referral, they will not be found eligible.
Thanks,
Donna
Thanks for your comment Donna. I think one answer is that the RTI data is just one set of evaluation information. Special education evaluations are multi disciplinary, so there may be other ways of collecting data than the RTI process. It is confusing.