The Answer to your Special Education Problems Live In Your Multi-Tiered Systems of Support

Statewide compliance monitoring, calls for improved outcomes for persistently marginalized student groups, and our own personal desires to lead inclusive, diverse, and affirming schools has so many of us continually seeking strategies to ensure all students, especially those with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), thrive. A simple, but difficult truth for us all to orient around is that the foundation of any successful inclusion program is a proactive and responsive Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS). The strength of your inclusion program are directly relate to the strength of your MTSS because in order for students with IEPs and other diverse learners to flourish in general education, we as leaders need to reimagine the function and purpose of general education and this work is beautifully be articulate through a functional, supportive, and growth focused MTSS process.  

In this edition of the Inclusive Ed Leader, let’s explore together why the strength of your inclusion program is directly linked to the effectiveness of your MTSS and highlight some evidence-based practices you can put in place or incorporate to support all kinds of learners at each tier.

Reason 1: Proactive Identification

A strong MTSS framework allows for early identification of barriers to learning, ensuring that cycles of support can be implemented before barriers morph into perceived intractable problems. This proactive approach is crucial for students with IEPs, who benefit most from early and targeted cycles of support.  A robust Tier 1 system of proactive identification of barriers is critical to the success of inclusion of students with IEPs because traditional practices in general education rely on a “wait to fail” model before considering support for students.  We have decades of data from schools across this country that confirm that the “wait to fail” before we offer help model doesn’t work and has resulted in generations of students developing low academic self-esteem which cascades into a litany of other circumstances that compound barriers to accessing, grappling, and mastery with grade level content.  Further, when proactive identification of barriers to learning is extended to all students, not just students in particular sub-groups, it normalizes the reality that having access to supports and scaffolds are a natural part of the learning cycle, and there is no need to label or stigmatize particular groups of students when they demonstrate a need for support while learning grade level content.    

A defining tactile characteristic of Tier 1 support is Universal Screening practices.  Universal Screening practices help identify a student's readiness for learning grade level content.  Those data from Universal Screening can be a particularly useful tool when general education and special education teachers co-plan, as they provide a helpful guide of what kinds of differentiated instruction needs to be designed.  

Reason 2: Customized Support

MTSS provides a structured way to offer increasingly targeted cycles of support tailored to the specific skill needs of students with IEPs. This customization ensures that support is not one-size-fits-all but is designed to address the unique skill gap that is blocking access to grade level content in that moment.  

I want to pause for a second to make an important clarifying comment: the intended purpose of Tier 2 support to best serve all kinds of learners in your school should not be remediation.  The purpose of Tier 2 support should be to provide additional opportunities or scaffolds needed to mastery grade level content.  In order to take your MTSS from basic to transformative, all of the energy in both Tier 1 and Tier 2 needs to be focused on ensuring access and mastery of grade level content.  (Let me know in the comments what you think about all that!  This is what I believe to be true, and curious to know how that lands with folks…)

A common feature of Tier 2 support is Targeting Small Group instruction.  My teaching background is in teaching middle and high school and the times I saw small group instruction happen best was when I was co-teaching with a general education teacher and we organized the lesson around stations.  We strategically grouped students so they were working on the appropriate grain size task and we were able to significantly reduce the teacher to student ratio so that we could provide focused attention and the necessary in the moment coaching to move learning forward.  What I loved most about station teaching was that as a special education teacher, I was able to work with a range of skill levels, which accelerated my ability to support the kid’s on my caseload, and my general education counterparts loved the model because it finally provided them the space to work with small groups of students confidently know the other students were also meaningfully engaged in learning either with me or a manageable independent practice or collaborative activity.  The students on my caseload loved it when we did station teaching because it normalized small group support in the class and they didn’t have to feel singled out.  

Reason 3: Collaborative Efforts

A final reason why the strength of your inclusion practices is directly related to the strength of our MTSS is that a strong MTSS emphasizes collaboration among educators, specialists, and families, creating a comprehensive support network for all students. This collaborative approach ensures that all educational partners are working together to meet the students' needs, providing a cohesive and comprehensive support system.

Now, for my friends in the struggle who are still reeling from the assertion I made about Tier 2 not being for remediation, Tier 3 is where I advocate for addressing below grade level skills that need to be remediated.  A defining characteristic of Tier 3 support in most MTSS models is Intensive Individualized Interventions.  When students require the most intensive support, Tier 3 cycles of support come into play. One evidence-based practice is the use of one-on-one tutoring sessions that focus on the student’s specific skill or knowledge gaps.  For example, if a student with a specific learning disability eligibility that manifests itself most in math, they might receive daily, individualized instruction using an adaptive computer based curriculum.  When inclusive classrooms prioritize dedicated time for all students to work on adaptive computer based curriculum, this creates space a  filling below grade level skill or knowledge gaps in a supported, yet discreet manner, while again normalizing the reality that skill level will always be variabile within any group of student and there is no need to judge this reality.  There is only a need to hold intentional space for addressing this fact.