Background and D11 Plan

Response to Intervention is an outgrowth of changes in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation.  Previously, children who struggled academically in school had to:

1. fit the qualifications of a legislated category (special education, 504, English Language Learners) to ensure there was funding for extra services; and

2. fall significantly before being served.

Rules and regulations varied from state to state and level to level.  A student who qualified as gifted in Minnesota might not be “gifted” in Colorado.  A student who qualified for special education services in elementary school might not qualify in middle school.

Response to Intervention’s goal is to meet the needs of all students at risk for failure, whether or not they qualify for a legislated program.  Response to Intervention is an individual, comprehensive, student-centered problem-solving process that can be implemented in the general education classroom.  Educators employ research-based interventions in their efforts to increase student achievement.  Response to Intervention then uses systematic monitoring of student progress to track student success.  A student’s lack of response to regular education interventions becomes the determinant of need for additional, more intense interventions.

Response to Intervention in District 11 

All District 11 schools are implementing RtI for grades K-12.  This is a multi-year process, with full implementation in all schools to be completed by August 2009.  Seven pilot schools (4 elementary, 2 middle and 1 high school) began the program in 2005-06.  Forty additional sites introduced the framework in 2006-07, and the remaining began implementation in 2007-08.  As of Spring 2008, the District has designated six elementary schools and two middle schools as “Exemplar” sites for their exceptional Response to Intervention practices: 

 The Colorado Springs School District 11 Board of Education approved Response to Intervention Policy IHBAA on September 10, 2008, requiring that all District 11 schools fully implement the principles and practices of the RtI framework to improve educational outcomes for all students by August 15, 2009, as required by federal and state mandates.

            Response to Intervention Policy                 Response to Intervention Regulation

SLD Implementation Plan                                              Response to Intervention Pyramid

2007-2008 Summary of School Implementation Status