[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-587201-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":80,"doc-detail-587201-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":73,"head_meta":75,"extra_data":77,"updated_unix":79},105,"en","keeping-focus-on-improved-student-outcomesystem-with-specisal-mtss-as-an-interdependent-education-eligibility-determination","Keeping Focus on Improved Student OutcomeSystem with Specisa:l MTSS as an Interdependent - Education Eligibility Determination","","This position paper argues that state education agencies should rethink how they fulfill IDEA special education eligibility determination requirements. It proposes using MTSS as an interdependent system that integrates multi-tier supports with assessment and decision-making, keeping attention on improved student outcomes. The paper critiques deficit-oriented referral and evaluation practices, highlights equity impacts, and emphasizes educator expertise and natural instructional environments to guide effective instruction and eligibility decisions.",{"@graph":14,"@context":72},[15,34,55],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/keeping-focus-on-improved-student-outcomesystem-with-specisal-mtss-as-an-interdependent-education-eligibility-determination/587201/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/keeping-focus-on-improved-student-outcomesystem-with-specisal-mtss-as-an-interdependent-education-eligibility-determination/587201.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"วิน","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-06","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":30},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",{"@type":56,"mainEntity":57},"FAQPage",[58,64,68],{"name":59,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":61},"What is the main purpose of this position paper?","Question",{"text":62,"@type":63},"To suggest how state education agencies can reconsider how they meet IDEA special education eligibility determination requirements by using MTSS as an interdependent system focused on improved student outcomes.","Answer",{"name":65,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":66},"What problems does the paper identify in historical referral and evaluation systems?",{"text":67,"@type":63},"It describes deficit-oriented processes, limited use of teachers as central contributors, and responsibility shifting that leads to categorical programming rather than solving instructional problems.",{"name":69,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":70},"How does an equity-based MTSS support more coherent eligibility decisions?",{"text":71,"@type":63},"It integrates educators’ decisions that promote rightful presence and belonging, advances achievement in the general curriculum, and generates data from day-to-day instruction to inform evaluation and eligibility decision-making.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":74,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":76,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":78,"site_id":7},587201,1792273726,{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":82},"success",[83,87,91,95,100,105,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":84,"show_sort_weight":85,"slug":86},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":88,"show_sort_weight":89,"slug":90},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":92,"show_sort_weight":93,"slug":94},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":96,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":101,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":131},{"doc_id":78,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":30,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},2336475104736,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/22000c4c5e0e5b17e70?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1786591360781797222","Keeping Focus on Improved Student OutcomeSystem with Specisa:l MTSS as an InterdependentEducation Eligibility Determination  \nAngie Caster, Karmen Clark, Michelle Dunn, Andrea Mayfield, Dawn Miller, and W. David Tilly, III  \nThis position paper was developed using IDEA Part B funds. Suggested citation: Caster, A. , Clark, K. , Dunn, M. , Mayfield, A. , Miller, D. , & Tilly, W. D. III. (2025) . Keeping focus on improved student outcomes: MTSS as an interdependent system with special education eligibility determination.  \nSWIFT Education Center.  \nIntroduction  \nState education agencies have long had the freedom to determine how they meet the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This federal law requires provision of a free and appropriate public education to students with disabilities with the intention of improving their educational outcomes (Education of the Handicapped Act 1975; Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2004). Simply put, the law and regulations tell states WHAT they must do for students with disabilities, but does not tell them HOW they must do it (Bellamy, 1987; Hehir, 1996; Tilly, 2002). That part is left up to individual states.  \nThe purpose of this paper is to suggest how state education agencies can reconsider how they meet the IDEA special education eligibility determination requirements. Specifically, the paper describes how districts can use their multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) as an interdependent system for meeting these requirements while maintaining a coherent, steadfast focus on improved student outcomes. An integrated approach elevates the full humanity of children and their belonging in their school and community. Further, it promotes an evaluation process that prioritizes educators’ knowledge, experience, expectations, and natural environments as the context for understanding student performance and planning for effective instruction.  \nThe Issue  \nState education agencies who receive IDEA special education funding are accountable for, among other things, ensuring a responsible process  \n© 2025 SWIFT Education Center 2  \nfor identifying which students have a disability and are eligible to be served under the law.  \nSeveral issues arise with historical special education referral and evaluation systems. First, traditional referral and evaluation are deficit oriented. They place the problem within the child rather than recognizing that educational problems result from a complex interaction between student, curriculum, instruction, and environmental factors. The process denies students their full humanity and learning capacity. Second, these processes too often do not capitalize on teachers as central participants who can provide knowledge of the general education context and foster understanding of a student’s needs and how they might be addressed. Third, referral and evaluation processes have become equated with placing the responsibility with someone else to do something else somewhere else, resulting in categorical programming in the name of a “least restrictive environment” placement. In essence, the process moves problems, it does not solve them. From an equity perspective, too often students are denied a rightful presence in the school community, access to general education curriculum, and to all that school has to offer (Calabrese Barton & Tan, 2020; IDEA 1997). Students of color are disproportionately affected (Blanchett, 2014). These denials can be based on systemic and personal biases about student ability, race/ethnicity, language, culture, family economic status,(im)migration status, and a host of other intersecting characteristics. Taken together, MTSS allows us to disrupt and address systemic inequities related to historic and prevailing evaluation practices so that adult mindsets,  \n© 2025 SWIFT Education Center 3  \nresource allocation, and plans to meet individual student needs are rightfully centered in the general education context.","cbCaiv61iN4UImeq","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiv61iN4UImeq","pdf",741133,17,"English","# Introduction\n# The Issue\n# Equity-based Multi-Tiered System of Support","[{\"question\":\"What is the main purpose of this position paper?\",\"answer\":\"To suggest how state education agencies can reconsider how they meet IDEA special education eligibility determination requirements by using MTSS as an interdependent system focused on improved student outcomes.\"},{\"question\":\"What problems does the paper identify in historical referral and evaluation systems?\",\"answer\":\"It describes deficit-oriented processes, limited use of teachers as central contributors, and responsibility shifting that leads to categorical programming rather than solving instructional problems.\"},{\"question\":\"How does an equity-based MTSS support more coherent eligibility decisions?\",\"answer\":\"It integrates educators’ decisions that promote rightful presence and belonging, advances achievement in the general curriculum, and generates data from day-to-day instruction to inform evaluation and eligibility decision-making.\"}]","Keeping Focus on Improved Student OutcomeSystem with Specisa:l MTSS as an Interdependent - Education Eligibility Determination | PDF",1792061018,43]