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Florida’s RtI and Special Education Eligibility Toolkit: An Introduction to the Online Guide

Beth HardcastleDr. Jose CastilloKarrie MusgroveDr. David WheelerDr. Rosalind Hall

RtI Systemic Complaint

In the spring of 2016, BEESS received a systemic complaint from Disability Rights Florida. The specific issues were:1. Did districts fail to meet their child find obligations under the IDEA

by using Response to Intervention(RtI) to improperly delay evaluations?

2. Did the districts deny students FAPE by failing to include parents as members of the RtI and Multi-Tiered System of Support(MTSS) process, failing to inform parents of their right to request anevaluation at any time, failing to conduct parentally requested evaluations?

Changes in practices and supports• Just Read, Florida! now requires districts to conduct meetings to

align the K12 Reading Plan with the SP&P. Districts must provide documentation of meetings to include the Curriculum Specialist (K12 Contact),ESE Director and ELL contact.

• GTIPS informational flier has been disseminated to districts and project members to guide them back to the Guiding Tools for Instructional Problem Solving- revised document (GTIPS-R), for guidance and technical assistance on RtI and Problem Solving within the MTSS framework:

http://www.florida-rti.org/gtips/index.html• Parent Guide to MTSS and MTSS Brochure have been updated and

made available to districts:http://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/7690/urlt/Parent-Guide-MTSS.PDFhttp://florida-rti.org/_docs/ParentInformationIntensiveInterventions.pdf

State-wide professional learning series launched: Eligibility for SLD Using RtI

within a MTSS

• Unit 1 Sessions started in November

• January 30 Unit 1: Panhandle

• January 31 Unit 2: Jacksonville

• http://www.fldoe.org/academics/exceptional-student-edu/beess-resources/meetings.stml

Florida’s RtI and Special Education Eligibility Toolkit

An online tool built from the collaboration of Florida Department of Education, the Florida PS/RtI Project, and professionals from various districts to increase the quality and consistency of eligibility decisions.

RtI and Special Education Eligibility Workgroup

• Vision

• Workgroup Composition

• SLD Application/Essential MTSS components

• Way of work/Development of draft content

• Current status of platform

RtI and SPED Module: SLD Application

• Introduction

• Section 1: Gen Ed Rule

• Section 2: Performance Discrepancy

• Section 3: Rate of Improvement/RtI

• Section 4: Exclusionary Factors

• Section 5: Need for Special Education/SDI

• Section 6: Decision Tree

Florida Eligibility Criteria – SLDCriterion 1

(Tier 1)

Failure to meet age or

grade-level standards:

Oral expression

Listening comprehension

Written expression

Basic reading skills

Reading fluency skills

Reading comprehension

Mathematics Calculation

Mathematics problem-solving

Criterion 2(Tiers 2 & 3)

Response to

Intervention (RtI):Insufficient or

resource intensive)

response to

scientific, research-

based intervention

Criterion 3(All Tiers)

+ +

Rule out…

Visual, hearing or motor disability

Intellectual disability

Emotional/Behavioral disability

Cultural factors

Irregular attendance

Environmental or economic disadvantage

Classroom behavior

Limited English proficiency

+

Criterion 4(Tier 1)

Rule out lack of

instruction by

documenting…

Appropriate instruction

by qualified personnel

Repeated assessments of

student performance

Inclusionary Exclusionary

DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY FOR SPECIFICLEARNING DISABILITIES:

USING RESPONSE TO INSTRUCTION AND

INTERVENTION WITHIN A COMPREHENSIVE

EVALUATION PROCESS IN A MULTI-TIERED

SYSTEM OF INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORTS

November 6, 2018

RtI-E Professional Learning Series

Making SLD Eligibility Decisions within MTSS

• Unit 1: Role of Tier 1 in Eligibility decisions

– Discrepancy, Rule outs, Appropriate Instruction

• Unit 2: Role of Tier 2 (and Tier 1)

• Unit 3: Role of Tier 3 (as well as Tier 1 and 2)

• Unit 4: All tiers

Community of Practice and Between F2F Session activities

Comprehensive Evaluation Procedures SLD

Tier 1* Tier 2** Tier 3

Provided with appropriate learning experiences and Instruction in reading and math

General Education Intervention Procedures (6A-6.0331)

Response to intense individualized interventions. Repeated measures of assessment

Significant discrepancy between chronological age or grade level standards in 1 or more of 8 areas

Problem-solving process to develop, implement and evaluate a continuum of evidenced-based instruction and intervention practices

Observation to determine the relationship between student behavior and academic performance. Rule out classroom behavior factors

Data-based documentation of well delivered instruction and interventions

Response to intervention for intensified instruction. Repeated measures of assessment

Individual diagnostic procedures in area(s) of academic concern

Observation in routine classroom instruction completed prior to the referral. Document appropriate instruction and learning experiences

Rule out intellectual disability, emotional behavioral disability, vision/hearing/motor disability

Repeated measures of achievement at reasonable intervals

Rule out cultural factors

Rule out attendance and mobility factors

Rule out environmental or economic factors

Relationship between English proficiency and academic performance

A student with a SLD differs from peers in

BOTHintensity and severity.

All instruction should be standards-aligned.

Student Growth is the BEST Measure of Effective Instruction

(NOT Grade-Level Discrepancy).

Academic Engaged Time (AET) is the BEST predictor of student growth.

SWD’s are

General Education students first!

2 4 51 35 BIG Ideas

Big Idea Relationship to Eligibility Criteria

1. Students with disabilities are general education students first

1. Students must receive appropriate instruction in reading and math in the general education setting

2. AET predicts growth better than any other variable

2. Response to Instruction/Intervention during intensification of instruction (TIME, FOCUS, TYPE)

3. Rate of growth is the best measure of the effectiveness of instruction

3. Level of response to instruction is a required criterion

4. All instruction should be standards aligned

4. Student must demonstrate a significant discrepancy between current performance and grade-level standards

5. Difference between intensity and severity

5. Severity determined by level of response to instruction/intervention, required for eligibility

Table Top Discussion

• What components does your school/district lack or need to strengthen in order to make SLD eligibility decisions with fidelity?

• What are your school/district strengths related to this process?

RtI and SPED—SLD Module

• Preview

• Questions

• Discussion

Your Input

What are your perceived needs that we might be able to incorporate into the on-line modules?

What’s next?

RtI and SPED SLD on-line module:“Live” after first of year

RtI-E Professional Learning Series:Unit 1: January 30 — Fort Walton BeachUnit 2:• January 31 — Jacksonville• February 5 — Tampa• February 8 — Plantation• March 26 — Fort Walton Beach