Definition: Response to Intervention (RTI) is a procedure used by special educators to determine whether a student has a learning disability and is eligible for special-education services under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Before the 2004 revision of IDEA, students would have to show a significant history of failure in the classroom before they could be found eligible for special education.


RTI is designed to provide assistance to struggling students immediately, and use that intervention as away to determine whether the student truly has a learning disability or just requires more intensive teaching methods. If the student does not respond to research-based interventions, he or she can be classified as having a learning disability, and the information gained through the intervention process can inform his or her IEP planning.

Also Known As: Response to Instruction, Responsiveness to Intervention

Examples: The U.S. Department of Education's IDEA 2004 site has a Q&A on Response to Intervention and how it is defined in the law. For information on how RTI is implemented in your state, consult these sites and .pdfs, and use the National Center on Response to Intervention's state database to compare your state to others: Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Delaware | District of Columbia | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | Nebraska | Nevada | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | New York | North Carolina | North Dakota | Ohio | Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Vermont | Virginia | Washington | West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming