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At School   |   Supporting Learning in School   |   Parent/School Partnership
Questions Parents Should Ask about RTI
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By Candace Cortiella, Director - The Advocacy Institute
Published: March 2 2009 | Updated: January 18 2012

  • Is the school using Response to Intervention (RTI) to provide extra help to struggling students?
  • How does the school determine that all students are receiving high-quality instruction?
  • (If large numbers of students are not making acceptable progress, the instructional program should be examined.)
  • How will the school provide parents with information about the specific RTI process being used?
  • What information about RTI has the school, school district or state provided for parents?
  • Will all parents be notified of their child's screening results?
  • What screening procedures are used to identify students in need of intervention?
  • What are the interventions and instructional programs being used? What research supports their effectiveness?
  • What process is used to determine the intervention that will be provided?
  • Will parents receive information on how to help their child at home?
  • Will students receiving interventions miss important instruction?
  • How will interventions be delivered so the student isn't made to feel different?
  • What length of time is allowed for an intervention before determining if the student is making adequate progress?
  • What progress monitoring is being used? What are the types of data that will be collected and how will student progress be shared with parents?
  • Is a written intervention plan provided to parents as part of the RTI process? At what point?
  • Is the teacher or other person responsible for providing the interventions trained in using them?
  • When and how will information about a student's performance and progress be provided?
  • At what point in the RTI process are students who are suspected of having a learning disability referred for a formal evaluation?
  • How will the information gathered during RTI, such as progress monitoring data, be used to determine the student's need for special education?
  • What is the difference between RTI and special education? Are special education services more helpful than RTI?
  • If my child is already receiving special education services how can RTI help?


From NCLD's A Parent's Guide to Response to Invention (RTI)

Candace Cortiella is Director of The Advocacy Institute, a nonprofit focused on improving the lives of people with disabilities through public policy and other initiatives. The mother of a young adult with learning disabilities, she lives in the Washington, D.C., area.


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4 Comments

  1. Part 3/3) Also, visit the RTI Action Network [www.rtinetwork.org] and learn how RTI practices SHOULD be implemented successfully. While the content on this site is intended for educators, parents can benefit – it will answer questions and help to be more informed advocates for their children and for other families. A sampling of items: • An article by Deb Jennings, one of NCLD’s parent Leaders titled A Parent Leader's Perspective on Response to Intervention. • An Ask the Experts post that addresses delay or denial of special education evaluation due to RTI, and includes a copy of the letter from the US Dept. of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, explaining what the law says (http://rtinetwork.org/connect/448-rti-and-special-education-q11. • Attorney Jose MartÍn’s reflections on a school’s child find obligations in Legal Implications of Response to Intervention and Special Education Identification.

    Posted by: Itai (NCLD staff) on Monday, 23 January 2012

  2. Part 2/3... The process of effective RTI implementation is not easy, and takes more than a few tweaks in scheduling and instruction. Schools must rethink business as usual (general education instruction, monitoring student progress, making instructional decisions, allocating special help/support/resources, and much more. The “Questions” article details many of the needed ingredients for RTI to work, and it could just as easily have been titled Questions Educators Should Ask! How about sharing the “Questions” article with school personnel (and parents) and having the hard conversations about what is really happening to address the needs of students.

    Posted by: Itai (NCLD Staff) on Monday, 23 January 2012

  3. Dear Adrienne, The “Questions Parents Should Ask” article was written for parents to get them up to speed about what to expect when schools begin to implement RTI approaches, how to engage and partner with school personnel in discussions about how features of RTI will roll out in their community, and how RTI practices will benefit children, all children. Take a look at this article – it’s about how RTI can (and did!) have a very positive impact on all students, including those with disabilities, speaks to earlier recognition and intervention for students struggling with academics and behavior, efficient special education identification, and more. http://www.chapelhillnews.com/2012/01/18/69448/schools-strategy-paying-off.html. Definitely worth sharing with others! (Part 1/3)

    Posted by: Itai (NCLD Staff) on Monday, 23 January 2012

  4. What do you suggest people do if these questions can't be answered by the school? My son is not in public school any more, but when he was in 2nd grade they had started RTI and I asked for any written information they had on the process and they had nothing. In my (brief) experience, I found RTI was actually preventing children from being screened for services, which I know is not the intent. I also found that the burden was heavy on the classroom teacher, who was given no additional time or support to provide these interventions. I had also asked for RTI to start in 1st grade (we had had him privately tested already and our educational psychologist had recommended many interventions and helps that the school did not find necessary) and the teacher balked because of the amount of paperwork involved in RTI. I'd love to know of success stories with RTI, because in my child's old school district I saw it as a barrier, not a help.

    Posted by: Adrienne Bashista on Thursday, 19 January 2012

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