The initials MTSS/RtI represent Multi-Tiered Systems of Support/ Response-to-Intervention. MTSS/RtI is not a program, and it is not a department. Because it involves the whole child from behavior to academics, the MTSS/RtI process impacts all facets of the educational environment from the classroom to the lunchroom to the bus stop and through technology, may even reach into the home setting. When the latest revision of the IDEA [the federal law governing special education] passed in 2004, the law provided states with the opportunity to use MTSS/RtI as a method for identifying students with learning disabilities. Georgia’s state department of education responded to this opportunity by recommending implementation of the MTSS/RtI process in all schools in Georgia. Most students referred to special education are afforded interventions prior to referral or during the referral process.
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