Response to Intervention

RTI was recognized in the 2004 reauthorization of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) as one option that school districts can use to identify students with learning disabilities. The federal law states: “When determining whether a child has a specific learning disability as defined in § 602 (29), a local educational agency shall not be required to take into consideration whether a child has a severe discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability in oral expression, listening comprehension, written expression, basic reading skill, reading comprehension, mathematical calculation, or mathematical reasoning.” “In determining whether a child has a specific learning disability, a school district may use a process that determines if the student responds to scientific, research-based intervention as part of the evaluation procedures…….” ( P. L. 108-446 § 614(b)(6).