| The Response to Intervention Guidance for New York State School Districts (2010) document indicates Response to Intervention (RTI) is a mandated general education process intended to provide early interventions to struggling at-risk students. The multi-level RTI framework is structured to include targeted evidence-based interventions of increasing intensity based upon identified student need. Key characteristics of RTI include universal screening, progress monitoring, data based decision-making, and use of evidence-based instructional strategies. According to the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education, Part 200 Students with Disabilities (2015), students failing to make adequate progress within the RTI model may be referred to special education to determine if they are a student with a specific learning disability.;The purpose of the present study is to determine if the mandated RTI process has resulted in significant changes in staff conceptualizations of students with learning disabilities, the procedures for identifying students with learning disabilities, and the classification rates of learning disabilities. The present study examined elementary level RTI procedures, staff perceptions of students with potential learning disabilities, as well as, the learning disability classification rates since the RTI mandate was implemented in 2012. A mixed-methods case study design was conducted. Qualitative methods incorporating, a purposeful sample from one suburban New York school district utilized interviews, focus groups, observations, and artifact collection to triangulate data.;Quantitative analysis examined NYSED historical data for the learning disability classification rates across Nassau and Suffolk County school districts three years before and three years after RTI was mandated in 2012. Paired samples t tests were conducted to analyze the learning disability rates to determine if significant changes have resulted between Nassau and Suffolk County school districts. The present study may provide practical contributions to the education field concerning: (1) RTI implementation, (2) staff perceptions of students with learning disabilities in relation to the RTI process, (3) identification of students with learning disabilities, and (4) whether learning disability rates have significantly changed since the 2012 RTI mandate was initiated in New York. |
