Now that Mayflower Elementary has an action plan, Mr. Irwin and the planning team discuss how to financially support the infrastructure and materials required to implement RTI effectively. Through more research, they discover that IDEA 2004 states that school districts can use up to 15% of Federal Part B funds for early intervening services: "[F]or children in kindergarten through grade 12 (with a particular emphasis on children in kindergarten through grade 3) who have not been identified as needing special education or related services, but who need additional academic and behavioral support to succeed in a general education environment."

FYI According to IDEA 2004, school districts: Can use up to 15% of Federal Part B funding to provide: Professional development Education evaluations, services, and supports Behavioral evaluations, services, and supports Who use the 15% of Federal Part B must annually report to their state education agencies (SEA): The number of students who received early intervening services The number of students who received early intervening services and subsequently received special education services Must use the full 15% of Federal Part B funding if minority students are overrepresented in their special education programs

The planning team also finds out that if the school were to receive this money, it would have to keep detailed data on students' progress. In addition to using early intervening funds to implement RTI, districts and principals need to think creatively about how to fund RTI implementation. For instance, they may consider a variety of sources for funding RTI:

Title I funds Title V funds (State Grants for Innovation) IDEA '04 state discretionary funds Small one-time grants Corporate sponsorship Current year growth funds University partnerships

It should be noted, however, that not all schools need to seek funding in order to implement RTI. Many schools already provide high-quality instruction and can adopt the remainder of the RTI components (e.g., frequent progress monitoring) at little or no cost. Schools may also support the implementation of RTI by reallocating or more efficiently using existing resources. For example, a Title I teacher may provide Tier 2 intervention, or a school psychologist may assume RTI data-related responsibilities and may participate in grade-level team meetings

To learn more about how schools across the country are funding RTI, Mr. Irwin and a few members of the planning team attend a panel discussion on this topic. Click on the table below to hear what each panelist has to say.

Imagine that you are the principal at Jackson Elementary School and that you are exploring the funding options to support RTI. Survey the unique funding streams for your school, and identify two potential funding sources.

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