NYSUT applauded the Regents decision to move more slowly in efforts to shift to Response-to-Intervention, or RTI, programs to identify students with learning disabilities.

In regulations adopted over the summer, the Regents agreed to delay phasing out the IQ discrepancy model for K-4 students in determining reading problems until July 1, 2012. Originally, the State Education Department recommended prohibiting the discrepancy model to measure learning disabilities for all academic areas effective in 2010.

NYSUT Vice President Maria Neira noted the Regents also included union-backed language to ensure that staff, including general ed teachers, are trained to implement an RTI program with consistency.

Under the RTI approach, low-performing children are offered intense, individualized research-based academic intervention to determine whether they have a learning disability. Progress is monitored to see if the student's response to the intervention yields academic growth.

If not, the RTI process could involve a multi-tiered model where students not making adequate progress would receive more intensive interventions, including a referral for a special ed evaluation.