COVID-19   Law    Advocacy    Topics A-Z     Training    Wrights' Blog   Wrightslaw Store    Yellow Pages for Kids 

 Home > > IDEA 2004 > Specific Learning Disabilities: Discrepancy & Response to Intervention Models by Peter Wright, Esq. & Pamela Wright, MA, MSW


The Special Ed Advocate newsletter
It's Unique ... and Free!

Enter your email address below:

2024
Training Programs

Mar. 20-21 CA - Private

Apr. 11 - Denver, CO

June 5-8 - San Antonio, TX

Sept. 24 - MD via ZOOM

Full Schedule


Wrightslaw

Home
Topics from A-Z
Free Newsletter
Seminars & Training
Yellow Pages for Kids
Press Room
FAQs
Sitemap

Books & Training

Wrightslaw Storesecure store lock
  Advocate's Store
  Student Bookstore
  Exam Copies
Training Center
Mail & Fax Orders

Advocacy Library

Articles
Cool Tools
Doing Your Homework
Ask the Advocate
FAQs
Newsletter Archives
Short Course Series
Success Stories
Tips

Law Library

Articles
Caselaw
Fed Court Complaints
IDEA 2004
McKinney-Vento Homeless
FERPA
Section 504

Topics

Advocacy
ADD/ADHD
Allergy/Anaphylaxis
American Indian
Assistive Technology
Autism Spectrum
Behavior & Discipline
Bullying
College/Continuing Ed
Damages
Discrimination
Due Process
Early Intervention
  (Part C)

Eligibility
Episodic, such as
   Allergies, Asthma,
   Diabetes, Epilepsy, etc

ESSA
ESY
Evaluations
FAPE
Flyers
Future Planning
Harassment
High-Stakes Tests
Homeless Children
IDEA 2004
Identification & Child Find
IEPs
Juvenile Justice
Law School & Clinics
Letters & Paper Trails
LRE / Inclusion
Mediation
Military / DOD
Parental Protections
PE and Adapted PE
Privacy & Records
Procedural Safeguards
Progress Monitoring
Reading
Related Services
Research Based
  Instruction

Response to Intervention
  (RTI)

Restraints / Seclusion
   and Abuse

Retention
Retaliation
School Report Cards
Section 504
Self-Advocacy
Teachers & Principals
Transition
Twice Exceptional (2e)
VA Special Education

Resources & Directories

Advocate's Bookstore
Advocacy Resources
Directories
  Disability Groups
  International
  State DOEs
  State PTIs
Free Flyers
Free Pubs
Free Newsletters
Legal & Advocacy
Glossaries
   Legal Terms
   Assessment Terms
Best School Websites

 

Print this page

What You Need to Know About IDEA 2004
Specific Learning Disabilities: Discrepancy & Response to Intervention Models
by Peter Wright, Esq. & Pamela Wright, MA, MSW



Identifying Children with Specific Learning Disabilities

Learning disabilities account for nearly half of all children enrolled in special education programs. This led experts in the field to question the models for identifying children with learning disabilities.

Experts in the field of learning disabilities believe that many children identified with specific learning disabilities are “victims of poor teaching. The statement that many children identified as LD are “teaching disabled” is often accurate. Almost all children can learn to read if taught appropriately, but many do not get the help they need because their teachers are not adequately prepared. (Early Warning System by G. Reid Lyon and Jack M. Fletcher)

When Congress reauthorized IDEA, they changed the law about how to identify children with specific learning disabilities. IDEA 2004 says schools “shall not be required to take into consideration whether a child has a severe discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability in oral expression, listening comprehension, written expression, basic reading skill, reading comprehension, mathematical calculation, or mathematical reasoning.” (Section 1414(b)) (See Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, page 95)

Abandon Discrepancy Models

In the Commentary and Explanation to the proposed special education regulations, the U. S. Department of Education describes reasons why discrepancy models should be abandoned:

The IQ-discrepancy criterion is potentially harmful to students as it results in delaying intervention until the student’s achievement is sufficiently low that the discrepancy is achieved. For most students, identification as having an SLD occurs at an age when the academic problems are difficult to remediate with the most intense remediation efforts (Torgesen, et. al., 2001)

… the “wait to fail” model does not lead to “closing the achievement gap for most students placed in special education. Many students placed in special education as SLD show minimal gains in achievement and few actually leave special education. (Donovon & Cross, 2002).

Adopt "Response to Intervention" or "Response to Instruction" (RTI) Models

IDEA 2004 states, “when determining whether a child has a specific learning disability ... a local educational agency shall not be required to take into consideration whether a child has a severe discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability" ... a school "may use a process that determines if the child responds to scientific, research-based intervention as part of the evaluation procedures ..." (Section 1414(b)(6)). (See Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, page 97)

In the explanation and commentary to the proposed IDEA 2004 regulations, the U. S. Department of Education “strongly recommends” that schools use a response to intervention model that

…uses a process based on systematic assessment of the student’s response to high quality, research-based general education instruction…that incorporate response to a research-based intervention…
Identification models that incorporate response to intervention represent a shift in special education toward the goals of better achievement and behavioral outcomes for students identified with SLD…” Commentary and Explanation of the Proposed Regulations for IDEA 2004

Diagnosing Learning Disabilities

Psychologists often diagnose learning disabilities by exclusion. If a child has a disability that adversely affects educational performance, and the child is not retarded, does not have a visual, hearing or motor disability, is not emotionally disturbed, and is not negatively affected by environmental, cultural or economic disadvantages, it is likely that the child has a learning disability.

According to the IDEA 2004 regulations, States “Must not require the use of a severe discrepancy between intellectual ability and achievement for determining if a child has a specific learning disability ... must permit the use of a process based on the child's response to scientific, research-based intervention and may permit the use of other alternative research-based procedures for determining whether a child has a specific learning disability…” (CFR 300.307(a)) (See Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, page 243)

Response to Intervention (RTI): Articles & Free Pubs . . . more articles, research, publications

A Parent Guide to RTI was created by Susan Bruce, Regional Education Coordinator for PRO*Parents of South Carolina, Inc. The Guide explains the RTI process and what IDEA requires, parent concerns and important questions about RTI, and what RTI means for our kids. Pdf format

Fletcher, Jack M., W. Alan Coulter, Daniel J. Reschly & Sharon Vaughn. Alternative Approaches to the Definition and Identification of Learning Disabilities: Some Questions and Answers. From Annals of Dyslexia.
URL: https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/rtiannalsfinal.pdf

To ensure adequate instruction for students with LD, identification must focus on assessments that are directly related to instruction. Services for struggling students must focus on intervention, not eligibility. Special education must focus on results and outcomes, not eligibility and process. Identification models that include RTI will lead to better achievement and behavior outcomes for students with LD and those at risk for LD.

Response to Intervention (RTI): A Primer for Parents
. Klotz, Mary Beth Ph.D., NCSP, Canter, Andrea, PhD, NASP National Association of School Psychologist.
URL: http://www.ldonline.org/article/15857

Describes a "three-tier" system (beginning in general education and ending in special education) that serves the early intervention and disability identification objectives of RBI. The focus is on standard tutoring protocols, not "problem solving model," because available scientific research supports this approach.

Responsiveness to Intervention: A Blueprint for Practitioners, Policymakers, and Parents in Teaching Exceptional Children. Fuchs, Douglas, Lynn S. Fuchs. (2001)
URL: http://www.advocacyinstitute.org/resources/TEC_RtIblueprint.pdf


Describes a "three-tier" system (beginning in general education and ending in special education) that serves the early intervention and disability identification objectives of RBI. The focus is on standard tutoring protocols, not "problem solving model," because available scientific research supports this approach.


Response to Instruction in the Identification of Learning Disabilities: A Guide for School Teams. Ovals, Joseph & David P. Prasse. (2004) Published in NASP Communique, 32 (5).

The authors explain why response to intervention is a promising alternative to the traditional IQ-achievement discrepancy model for identifying students with learning disabilities and improving classroom instruction in general education.”
URL: www.nasponline.org/assets/documents/Resources and Publications/Handouts/Families and Educators/nasp_rti.pdf

A Three-Tier Response to Intervention (RTI) Model
. LDOnline
Article describes a Three-Tier RTI Model as an alternative to the Discrepancy Model (the "Wait to Fail Model"). This article describes a three-tier reading model that monitors student progress with different levels of intervention intensity.

Lyon, G. Reid Lyon and Jack Fletcher. (2001) Early Warning System.
URL: http://educationnext.org/early-warning-system/

The authors describe three factors that caused a dramatic increase in children identified with LD. (1) Remediation is rarely effective after 2nd grade. (2) Measurement practices work against identifying LD children before 2nd grade. (3) Federal policy and the sociology of public education allow ineffective policies to continue. The authors make a case for implementing effective early intervention programs.

National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities. (2005) Responsiveness to Intervention & Learning Disabilities.
URL: http://www.ldonline.org/?module=uploads&func=download&fileId=461

Examines concepts, potential benefits, practical issues, and questions associated with responsiveness to intervention (RTI) and learning disabilities (LD). Includes questions about implementation, eligibility, parent participation, structure and components, professional roles and competencies, and needed research.

More articles about RTI and Early Intervening.

Back to Top

Home

Revised: 02/15/19
Created: 12/06/05

Email Newsletter icon, E-mail Newsletter icon, Email List icon, E-mail List icon The Special Ed Advocate: It's Free!

March Sale - SAVE 25%

Print, Immediate Downloads
and Advocacy Supplies
Order Wrightslaw Product
s
and Save 25% Now!



Check Out
The Advocate's Store!

Wrightslaw on FacebookWrightslaw on TwitterWrightslaw YouTube Channel 

Wrightslaw Books
Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, 3rd Edition, by Pam and Pete Wright
About the Book

Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy, 2nd Edition
About the Book

Wrightslaw: All About IEPs
About the Book

Wrightslaw: All About Tests and Assessments
About the Book

Wrightslaw: Special Education Legal Developments and Cases 2019
About the Book

Surviving Due Process: Stephen Jeffers v. School Board
About the DVD Video


The Advocate's Store


Understanding Your Child's
Test Scores (1.5 hrs)

Wrightslaw Special: $14.95