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Response to Intervention: The Role of and Effect on School Psychology

Matthew K. Burns and Melissa Coolong-Chaffin
University of Minnesota

Abstract: The recent provision in federal special education regulations that allows for the use of student response to scientifically based interventions to diagnose learning disabilities, referred to as response to intervention (RTI), represents perhaps the most significant change in special education in almost 30 years. However, what constitutes RTI and what role school psychology should play is not clearly articulated in legal regulatory or research literature. The current article describes a three-tiered RTI model that uses assessment data to identify and respond to student needs. We also discuss specific activities in which school psychologists could engage within and across the three tiers. Finally, we present data from our school-based experiences that demonstrate how daily activities of school psychologists change within an RTI approach.

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