NEBRASKA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Response to Intervention (RtI) – Essential Elements
In Nebraska, each school district is responsible for assuring that it provides high quality services to every child. Response-toIntervention (RtI) is a framework Nebraska school districts may use to expand their capacity to improve educational results
for all students. RtI begins with strong general education instruction, and at the first sign that a student is lagging behind
his\her peers in an academic area, more intense instruction is provided. Data on a student’s instructional progress informs
instruction and interventions. A student who does not respond to increasingly intense interventions may be eligible for
special education services. Based on IDEA 2004, data from an RtI system may be used as part of the comprehensive
evaluation for special education eligibility.
RtI involves changes to specific practices and techniques. For districts choosing to use RtI, the infrastructure must be in place
to provide adequate resources and smooth organizational routines for implementation. The Essential Elements for the
implementation of RtI are based upon principles identified in research for an effective RtI system and are the basis for a
district’s RtI Implementation Plan. The Essential Elements define the features/components for putting RtI into practice for
every student. Districts have latitude in determining appropriate assessments, curriculum and interventions that meet their
needs. Administration of those features may differ from district to district. Integration of a clearly developed RtI
Implementation Plan that works in concert with processes already in place, such as Title I, professional learning communities
and school improvement activities, and enables services to be delivered efficiently and effectively.
If a district elects to utilize data from an RtI system for the verification of students for special education services, the district
submits the Response to Intervention Implementation Plan along with the assurances below to the Nebraska Department of
Education, Office of Diverse Populations, for review and recommendations. For your convenience, the RtI Implementation
Plan may be attached or uploaded. If you are not utilizing RtI data for special education eligibility, submitting your RtI
Implementation Plan to the Nebraska Department of Education is optional.
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NEBRASKA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Response to Intervention – Essential Elements
Essential Element 1: RtI Leadership Team – RtI is lead by identifiable core teams of individuals who
represent a variety of roles and have administrative support, authority and skills to carry out the RtI process (i.e.,
teams provide leadership with respect to coordinating assessments, instructional modifications, intervention
implementation, data analysis and decision making at the district and/or school, grade and individual student level.)
District Plan: Include a description of the composition of the district/building team and a description of leadership
responsibilities and activities.)
Assurances: (Check all that apply)
 Leadership teams are in place that have defined roles and include an administrator,
 Team members are knowledgeable of their individual roles and responsibilities.
 School-based RtI leaders are trained to oversee and manage all aspects of the RtI process
 Teams are provided and participate in on-going professional development.
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Essential Element 2: Parent Engagement - Parents are informed and engaged in their child’s
educational process.
District Plan: (Include a description of how parents are informed and engaged at each of the tiers/levels.)
Assurances: (Check all that apply)
 The district has a process in place identifying how parents are informed and involved at each of the
tiers/levels, including compliance with educational law as appropriate.
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Essential Element 3: Scientifically Based Core Instruction and Intervention: Scientifically
supported curriculum and sound instructional practices are in place in the regular education classroom.
District Plan: (Include a description of the process used to examine the research basis of core instruction,
supplementary programs and interventions, the results of this examination and actions taken based on this
information.
Assurances: (Check all that apply)
 The district has a process in place for examining the research basis of core instructional programs,
supplementary programs used in conjunction with core instruction and intervention programs.
 The district has specific criteria to judge the research or scientific basis for instruction and intervention.
 As a result of actions taken based on this examination, the strengths and weaknesses identified for each
program are addressed.
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Essential Element 4: Universal Screening Assessment – A universal screening assessment which is
valid and reliable for the purpose of screening is conducted at regular intervals for all students.
District Plan: (Include a description of the assessment and with whom it is used, the assessment’s reliability and
validity, the timetable for data collection, and method and frequency of assessment reliability checks.)
Assurances: (Check all that apply)
 The district uses screening assessments which are valid and reliable for the purpose of screening.
 Professional development is provided in the administration and scoring of assessments and the use of data
for instructional planning and decision making.
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Essential Element 5: Individual Progress Monitoring – Individual progress monitoring is conducted
and results in objective, reliable, valid and sensitive measurements of student progress.
District Plan: (Include a description of the plan for collection of progress monitoring data at each tier, including the
assessments used and the frequency and interval of assessments used for decision making purposes.)
Assurances: (Check all that apply)
 The district uses progress monitoring assessments that are valid and reliable.
 The district has a plan for the collection of progress monitoring data at each tier/level, including the
assessments used and the frequency and interval of assessments used for decision making purposes.
 The district has a plan for providing professional development to new staff on the administration and scoring
of assessments and the use of assessment data for instructional /intervention decision making.
 The district has included a graph representing the progress of two students for each intervention cycle
employed.
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Essential Element 6: Planned Service Delivery Decision Rules – Guidelines are established for
determining student movement between and within tiers.
District Plan: (Include a description of the district decision rules and criteria for making instructional/interventions
decisions at each tier of support.)
Assurances: (Check all that apply)
 The district has clear guidelines for determining student movement between and within tier/levels based on
the student’s level and rate of progress both prior to and after the initiation delivery
 The district has cut scores for determining risk status
 The district has determined the frequency and duration of progress monitoring
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Essential Element 7: Intervention Delivery – Intervention intensity is based on the student’s response to
instruction. The intervention intensity increased when student’s needs are not met in Tier 1.
District Plan: (Include a description of how interventions are used at particular grade levels across tiers, specifying
who administers and receives the interventions and when and how often this occurs.)
Assurances: (Check all that apply)
 The interventions are scientifically-based (research-based) and are provided in addition to the provision of
core instruction.
 The interventions are selected on basis of student needs identified diagnostically and intervention intensity
is increased when students are less responsive.
 Those delivering the interventions are adequately trained on the intervention being delivered.
 Based on student response to intervention, the need for an increase or decrease in support is determined
by the building level team.
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Essential Element 8: Fidelity of Instruction – The degree to which interventions are implemented as
planned; safeguards put into place to determine if interventions are carried out as they were intended.
District Plan: (Include a description of fidelity data collection for core instruction, supplemental programs and
interventions and how data are used.)
Assurances: (Check all that apply)
 Fidelity of implementation is assessed on a regular basis by an impartial professional familiar with the
instructional/intervention programs.
 As intensity of interventions increase, adherence checks are made more frequently.
 The plan supports successful implementation of instruction and is not used for teacher evaluation.
N-RtI ReportingEE7-22-09
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