Case Study
Mr. Knightly has been a Special Education teacher at Jackson Elementary School for seven years. Every five
years, he must renew his teaching license and, to do that, he must complete 6-semester hours, or 90-clock
hours, of Continuing Education during the five-year period. Recently, he took a course called, “Diversity in the
Special Ed Classroom.” Having taught at Jackson Elementary School for so long, he felt he had a pretty good
understanding of the disproportionate representation of minorities in the elementary school special education
classroom. But, his professor discussed a recent Penn State study that indicated that minorities were actually
underestimated in terms of being identified as needing special education services in elementary and middle
school. The conflicting reports made his head spin. He decided to talk with his co-worker, Ms. Dailey.
Mr. Knightly and Ms. Dailey sat down for coffee in the teacher’s lounge to discuss this discrepancy in reports.
Ms. Dailey: “I think we need to focus on what we can do for all students instead of hoping we get it right in
identifying those in need of special supports through special education. I mean, we have federal laws that
provide criteria for special education services, but we are still failing to meet the needs of many students.”
Mr. Knightly: “Yeah, I know that there are students who arrive in my class that could probably have stayed in
the general education classroom if help had been given in time.”
Ms. Dailey: “Have you heard about Response-to-Intervention?”
Mr. Knightly: “Actually, I just read an article about a school in Florida that has had real success with the
program.”
Ms. Dailey: “You know, many of our students’ interfering behaviors impact their success with academics. We
may want to consider a combination program that deals with academics, interfering behaviors, and social
skills.”
Mr. Knightly: “It sounds like you’re thinking of RTI and a School-Wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS)
program. If we could bring in a social skills program too . . . .”
Ms. Dailey: “I’d have to do some research, but I believe many SWPBS programs bring in specialized social skill
programs under the “Behavior Education Program” in Tier 2.”
Mr. Knightly: “Would you want to work with me to put together a proposal for the school district on bringing in
RTI, SWPBS, and social skills training?”
Ms. Dailey: “Let’s get started!”
Prepare a 4-6 page proposal (not including title and reference pages) that Mr. Knightly and Ms. Dailey can
present at the next School Board meeting that covers the following topics:
Part I
Introduce the Response to Intervention (RTI) program and the School-wide Positive Behavior Support
(SWPBS) program to the School Board members by defining these programs.
Explain the evolution of RTI and its purpose
Explain how RTI meets IDEA 2004 criteria for “Early Intervening Services.”
Explain the purpose of SWPBS
Relate the ways in which the combination of RTI and SWPBS can support student success in academics and
promote socially acceptable behaviors conducive to learning.
Explain how the addition of a social skills program to Tier 2: Targeted Intervention (SWPBS) can provide an
extra layer of training for socially significant behaviors in the Behavior Education Program