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The Response-to-Intervention (RtI) movement is enabling public education in the United States to evolve from a reactive model in which students had to seriously deteriorate before being moved on to special education programs, to one that emphasizes early and high-quality research-based interventions in regular programs that generate useful data with which to make key decisions for each struggling student. This evolution, however, has taken place against a backdrop of legal requirements for special education referrals and evaluations that remain almost unchanged from those of more than 30 years ago. The meeting of RtI innovations and the traditional child-find requirement of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004) has many scratching their heads over exactly how the rules fit into the modern intervention era. Both the misconceptions that have become commonplace, as well as the legal disputes created by this juncture, make one wonder whether we truly grasp the fundamental child-find obligation of the IDEA in its present context.

The Response-to-Intervention (RtI) movement is enabling public education in the United States to evolve from a reactive model in which students had to seriously deteriorate before being moved on to special education programs, to one that emphasizes early and high-quality research-based interventions in regular programs that generate useful data with which to make key decisions for each struggling student. This evolution, however, has taken place against a backdrop of legal requirements for special education referrals and evaluations that remain almost unchanged from those of more than 30 years ago. The meeting of RtI innovations and the traditional child-find requirement of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004) has many scratching their heads over exactly how the rules fit into the modern intervention era. Both the misconceptions that have become commonplace, as well as the legal disputes created by this juncture, make one wonder whether we truly grasp the fundamental child-find obligation of the IDEA in its present context.

Raleigh County Schools Special Education Department is receiving national attention for its work providing new teachers with resources and mentorship. Special Education Programs Director Cindy Corley-Hicks explained that recruiting and retaining special education teachers is a problem nationwide because of the challenging aspects of the job, including feelings of isolation, legal liability and copious amounts of paperwork. In an effort to remedy this constant turnover, Raleigh County has partnered with the Department of Education and the federally funded National Center to Inform Policy and Practice in Special Education Professional Development (NCIPP) to develop the New Teacher Induction and Support Project.

Special education used to be a place—sometimes a separate school, more often a classroom down the hall where students labeled as such disappeared for hours at a time, out of sight and out of mind for the typical classroom teacher. That’s still sometimes the case, but increasingly, special education is front and center in the regular education classroom, and the population of students with individualized education plans has shifted away from those considered learning disabled.

Fewer students have been diagnosed with learning disabilities, but more students are being diagnosed with autism. “You’re not sending a child somewhere when you provide special ed. You’re providing them a service,” says Mary Watson, director of the Exceptional Child Division in the North Carolina Department of Education. “Special education is not a place; special education is individualized instruction with supports and services.”

How can special education teachers be more effective? The federal Education Department is funding a new center to find out. The department's office of special education said Thursday it will spend up to $5 million on the creation of the Center to Support the Development of Effective Educators to Serve Students with Disabilities. The new center—applications are due Sep. 4—will provide technical assistance to state education departments that are reviewing and reforming certification and licensing standards for teacher preparation programs. It will be expected to work with school districts and colleges and universities.

The Montana State Special Education Advisory Panel is recruiting potential members to serve a three-year term on the Panel.  The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that each state establish and maintain an advisory panel for the purpose of advising the state special education staff regarding the education of eligible children with disabilities.  The panel meets four times a year in Helena. Our first meeting is scheduled for September 22-23.  Expenses are reimbursed. The panel has specific membership requirements.  We are currently recruiting the following member positions: Private School Representative State/Local School Administrator Representative of Other State Agencies Involved in the Financing or Delivery of Related Services  to Children with Disabilities Representative of Subtitle B of Title VII of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act Parent of a Child With Disabilities (ages birth through 26) Multiple Positions A majority of the members of the panel must be individuals with disabilities or parents of children with disabilities (ages birth through 26). Panel positions are appointed by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.  If you would like to apply to become a member of the advisory panel, please submit a letter or e-mail of interest to: Dick Trerise Special Education Division Office of Public Instruction PO Box 202501 Helena, MT 59620-2501 Or dtrerise@mt.gov Please include a short biography, an indication of your interest in serving, whether you have a disability or are the parent of a student with a disability, and what insights you believe you possess that will benefit the work of the panel. For additional information, please contact Dick Trerise.

Response to intervention and special education are typically separate programs in schools, yet they are closely linked, both in methodology and practice. This webinar will explore what schools can do to better coordinate and, when practical, integrate the two. What are the potential roles of special education teachers in an RTI framework? How can student data be integrated and leveraged across intervention areas? What is the potential relationship between individualized education plans and RTI? How are special education classifications best made under RTI?

School districts that want to reduce special education spending from one year to the next without restoring what was cut now have the blessing of the U.S. Department of Education. In the past, federal law was interpreted to mean that once a district set its special education budget, it could not be reduced permanently except for very specific reasons. One of those exceptions to the so-called maintenance-of-effort rule were limited to decreased expenses, such as when an experienced, highly paid special education teacher retired or a high-needs student left a district. Cutting the special education budget for other reasons meant a district was running the risk of losing its share of federal funds.