Multi-Tiered System of Supports

Misconception #1: MTSS and the Student Support Team (SST) Process are all the same thing.

Truth: A multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) is not a process but the overarching framework that encompasses supports for the whole child, including academics, social, emotional, behavioral and attendance needs. One element of MTSS is the Student Support Team (SST), a group of educators who partner with families/caregivers through a data-based problem solving process to plan and monitor interventions for individual students at the intensive level. Schools often call this the “SST Process.”

Misconception #2: MTSS is the path to special education.

Truth: MTSS is a preventative framework. Schools strive to design learning experiences and environments to meet all students’ needs, use data to predict when a challenge might occur, and intervene before a student is struggling or the moment a concern arises. The goal of providing interventions is not to find students eligible for special education services but to increase student success by matching interventions to student needs. Interventions should be provided at the first sign of need and should be provided at increasing intensity regardless of potential future eligibility considerations.  

Misconception #3: Specific criteria must be met (e.g., teachers must try two different interventions/provide intervention for 8 weeks/have 12 data points) before a student can be considered for a special education evaluation. 

Truth: The amount of time in intervention can vary greatly depending on what the skills are, how great the need, and the age/grade level of the student. It may be weeks or years! Teams make sure the intervention is evidence-based and is taught as planned. Progress monitoring data is tracked to measure how the student is growing. Teams set short-term goals that are reviewed at the end of a cycle to make sure the student is getting closer to where they need to be. An intervention is continued with a new short-term goal if it’s working and changed when it’s not. Intervention cycles should be flexible, not linear.

Misconception #4: MTSS is a way to avoid Special Education.

Truth: The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) clearly states “neither an MTSS framework nor participation in a process based on the child’s response to intervention replaces the right of a child with a disability to be identified as such and to receive special education services (OSEP, 2011). If a Student Support Team or student’s family suspect a disability, MTSS cannot be a reason to delay a special education referral. The Student Support Team will meet to make sure the student has had quality instruction and an evidence-based, culturally and linguistically appropriate intervention that matches the specific need of the student. These decisions must be based in data. For emerging bilingual students, language development data must be part of the decision-making process.

Misconception #5: MTSS is a program for students who struggle.

Truth: MTSS is for everyone! It’s a district and schoolwide system designed to prevent students from struggling and to make sure each students meets their full potential.  A student cannot be “in MTSS” because it’s not a program – it’s a framework for schools. Our MTSS systems help us notice kids who might need help with schoolwork, with behavior or mental health. We notice when attendance changes and offer support before it becomes a bigger concern. We notice when our gifted learners are not thriving and intervene.  If we can predict it, we can prevent it!

Sources:
Response to Intervention within Colorado Multi-Tiered System of Supports, Colorado Department of Education, 2022.
Specific Learning Disabilities Guidelines, Colorado Department of Education, 2023.
“MTSS Myths and Truths for Educators.” Florida's Problem Solving/Response to Intervention Project, 2023.
“Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) Myth Busters”,  The University of Texas System/Texas Education Agency, 2021.

PBIS stands for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports and is a part of a school’s Multi Tiered System of Support for students. There is a common misconception that PBIS is only about extrinsic rewards, or that it is a way to demand compliance.  In BVSD, PBIS is about the way we create safe, supportive, and equitable classroom environments that PREVENT behavior challenges, PROMOTE academic and social-emotional growth, RESPOND to unexpected behaviors, and REPAIR harm. 

Schools are encouraged to hold high expectations for all students while building on students' cultures, identities and experiences. This can be done by emphasizing student voice when defining behavioral expectations and creating supportive environments focused on belonging and inclusion. It is important that schools examine their expectations and practices for implicit bias to make sure all students feel honored, valued and primed for success. Schools use data to make sure all students are able to meet behavior expectations, and if they notice one group of students is not, they reflect on and adjust their practices.

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports are provided at three tiers: universal, targeted and intensive.

For all students (universal):

• Each school has 3-5 positive behavioral expectations that align with the community's values. These expectations are defined, taught, practiced and monitored across the school – classrooms, hallways, the playground and cafeteria.  
• Schools often communicate these expectations to the school community through an acronym like "SOAR: Safety, Ownership, Achievement and Respect"  You may see a poster that gives examples of what this looks like in different settings. 
• When a student behaves in a way that is expected, they may be praised verbally, with a high five, or given a small reward like a sticker or a token for the school store. When a student behaves in a way that is unexpected, they will be reminded or retaught the expected behavior.

For some students (targeted):

• Even with clearly defined, taught, practiced and reinforced behavior expectations, some students may benefit from extra practice or instruction on a specific skill. Just like an academic need, teachers or counselors might work with small groups of students to learn and practice behavioral skills such as taking turns, asking for help, or taking a break when dysregulated.
• In some cases, a student's unexpected behavior may be communicating that there is a need not being met -- perhaps the student's difficulty getting started with their work is because the florescent lights are irritating, not because the student is being defiant. Perhaps the student left the room without asking because they don't feel safe given some life circumstances. In these cases, it is the environment, not the student, that needs to be changed. 
• Parents and caregivers can expected to be informed if their student is receiving targeted support for behavior 

For a few students (intensive):

• Sometimes a student may benefit from more intensive,  individualized behavior supports. A problem-solving team, often called the Student Support Team, will come together to discuss the unexpected behaviors to understand why they are occurring and what the school can do to help the student.
• An intervention plan may be created to document the support and collect data to make sure it's working.
• Parents and caregivers can expected to be part of these conversations to provide insight and help generate solutions.

• When a student needs help with something that isn't part of the typical learning for their age or grade, they may receive an intervention. For example, a seventh grader may need more time learning a fourth grade math skill, or an eighth grader may need help with learning to read. 
• An intervention is an extra small group instruction with a teacher. Sometimes the intervention happens in the classroom with the student’s teacher and sometimes it is with an interventionist in a different classroom. In middle and high school, students might be part of a special course to address their individual needs. These interventions are not special education services and they don't take the place of grade level learning -- they are extra.
• A student may be part of an intervention for a few weeks or a few years, depending on the student’s need. There is no minimum or maximum time -- it is individualized. 
• Teachers collect data to make sure that the intervention is working as planned. If the student isn't growing, they may change the way it's being taught or add more time for learning and practice.

F​amily, school and community partnering is one of the five components of MTSS.  This means that everyone has a role in the process.  School based teams work together to support student learning at home, at school, and in the community.  Ask your school how to join the work of the MTSS!

• You may be invited to be part of a collaborative Student Support Team meeting for your child, where you will be helping the team understand your child and sharing ideas and opinions.
• Families and caregivers should be kept up-to-date on their student's progress with an intervention.  Information may come in the form of informal communication, meetings, conferences or email. 
• If a student has an Intervention Plan, you can ask for a printed or digital copy of the plan or progress reports, which will include the goal, strategy and progress monitoring data.

Here are a few ways families can support what their student is doing in school:

• Get your student to school on time, ready to learn –every day!

• Make reading an everyday habit at home

• Communicate with your student’s teacher

• Monitor and assist with homework assignments

• Monitor student grades

• Review progress monitoring data

• Share your student’s successes

• Help your student set personal goals

• Help your student understand how to persevere through the tough parts of school

• Learn more about the curricula and interventions being used in your student’s school

• Attend parent/teacher conferences and other school meeting about your student

Take a look at our Neurodiversity Information and Resources webpage to learn more.