RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION AND POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT:
BROTHERS FROM DIFFERENT MOTHERS OR SISTERS WITH DIFFERENT MISTERS?
Recent updates to state and federal special education guidelines are changing the way schools are expected to support students with problem behavior. Traditionally, approaches to assisting these students included parent conferences, observations, a minimum number of general interventions, a review of educational and social records, and a psychological evaluation (Special Programs for Students who are Emotionally Handicapped, 2006). Now, with the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act and revision of IDEA, schools are being encouraged to turn towards proactive approaches that match the service a student received with his/her level of need. One such approach is called Response to Intervention, or RtI.
Response to Intervention (RtI) is defined as “the practice of providing high-quality instruction and interventions matched to student need, monitoring progress frequently to make decisions about changes in instruction or goals, and applying child response data to important educational decisions” (Batsche et al., 2005). Based on a problem-solving model, the RtI approach considers environmental factors as they might apply to an individual student’s difficulty, and provides services/intervention as soon as the student demonstrates a need. Focused primarily on addressing academic problems, RtI has emerged as the new way to think about both disability identification and early intervention assistance for the “most vulnerable, academically unresponsive children” in schools and school districts (Fuchs & Deshler, 2007, p. 131, emphasis added).
Positive Behavior Support (PBS) is based on a problem-solving model and aims to prevent inappropriate behavior through teaching and reinforcing appropriate behaviors (OSEP Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, 2007). Positive Behavior Support (PBS) is a process that is consistent with the core principles of RtI. Similar to RtI, PBS offers a range of interventions that are systematically applied to students based on their demonstrated level of need, and addresses the role of the environment as it applies to development and improvement of behavior problems. Both RtI and PBS are grounded in differentiated instruction. Each approach delimits critical factors and components to be in place at the universal (Tier 1), targeted group (Tier 2), and individual (Tier 3) levels. The following is a list of characteristics of these approaches as a basis for highlighting how best to meet the needs of children experiencing academic and social difficulties in school:
Tier 1 (Universal):
• Quality curriculum and instruction
• Preventative
• Intervention is carried out with fidelity
• Using data for decision-making
• Screening measure to proactively identify at-risk students
• It is only after high-quality academic and behavior instruction and interventions are established at both the schoolwide and classroom levels that schools could conclude that a student has a need for additional services
Tier 2 (Targeted Group):
• Evidence-based interventions
• Resources appropriate to the student’s level of need
• Progress monitoring
• Interventions must be carried out with fidelity
Tier 3 (Individual Student):
At Tier 3, the school team needs to conduct a more in-depth analysis of the student’s data, which at this point would include all of the information examined at Tier 1, as well as the student’s response to and the fidelity of the Tier 2 intervention(s).
• Effective team decision-making
Helpful RtI Resources/Web Sites:
http://www.jimwrightonline.com/php/tbrc/tbrc.php
http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/rti01_overview/chalcycle.htm
http://www.rti.ucr.edu/rtimaterials.htm
http://rtinebraska.unl.edu/
http://www.ode.state.or.us/initiatives/idea/rti.aspx
http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdesped/RTI.asp
http://www.rti4success.org/index.php
http://www.rtinetwork.org/Learn/Behavior/ar/SchoolwideBehavior
http://www.pbis.org/news/New/Newsletters/Newsletter4-2.aspx?print=true
http://www.interventioncentral.org/
http://www.nasdse.org/Portals/0/SCHOOL.pdf
http://www.nrcld.org/free.shtml
http://www.nrcld.org/resource_kit/
http://www.aimsweb.com/products/systems/rti/description.php
http://dibels.uoregon.edu/index.php
http://www.swis.org/
http://www.w-w-c.org/
http://www.osepideasthatwork.org/toolkit/index.asp
Response to Intervention Blueprint Series. NASDSE is pleased to announce that two documents in its Response to Intervention (RtI) Blueprint series are available for free download and/or purchase of print copies.
The two Blueprints, Response to Intervention Blueprints for Implementation: District Level and Response to Intervention Blueprints for Implementation: School Building Level, provide step-by-step implementation guidelines, resources and tips from RtI implementers with many years of experience. The Blueprints are intentionally designed to provide a framework around which RtI implementation can be built.
The Blueprints were developed jointly by NASDSE and the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE). To download a free copy of each blueprint, go to: http://www.nasdse.org/Portals/0/SCHOOL.pdf
PowerPoint Presentations:
Reaching All Students: Implications of an RtI Approach (Sugai, 2008)
Response to Intervention Logic and Positive Behavior Support (Sugai & Horner, 2007)
Response to Intervention Lessons Learned (Sugai & Horner, 2007)
For further assistance, please contact SSTR11 staff:
Helene Stacho, M.A. 
Cindy Pennington, M.A.
Coordinator Consultant
614.753.4692 614.753.4689