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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | August 18, 2015 11:27 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Thomas P. Murt |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Multi-Tiered System of Support |
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” . . . . . Nelson Mandela The Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) for schools, is a comprehensive system including aligned standards, high quality core instruction, universal screening, data-based decision-making, tiered services and supports, family engagement, central/building level leadership, Response to Instruction and Intervention (RtII) determination, and professional learning. MTSS promotes a safe and responsive environment while achieving success. It looks at the interaction of the curriculum, instruction, learners, and learning environment to determine what should be altered so that a student learns. MTSS gives schools structure and a framework to be safe and high achieving, and can be measured by increases in attendance, fewer visits to the nurse, decreased dropout rates, and increased graduation rates. Essentially, it is a system of supports that uses student data to discern and implement the very best system of supporting students and empowering them to achieve to the best of their abilities. The MTSS approach involves targeting specific areas in which students are struggling and then applying research-based interventions until the barriers to learning are addressed. MTSS leverages the principles of Educational Theory and Policy and integrates a continuum of system wide resources, strategies, structures, and practices. Numerous school districts and states, including Los Angeles, Boston, Kansas and Utah, have adopted an MTSS framework in an endeavor to more cohesively, comprehensively, and coherently meet the needs of all learners. In addition to offering a multi-tier approach to assessment and intervention, MTSS integrates a system wide continuum of supports. Such structures activate homeschool-community relationships and bring together partners from the education, mental health, family, social service, medical, juvenile justice, recreation and cultural domains within the multi-tier system. These collaborations, together with educational leadership at the district and school levels, promote the formation of wraparound structures, supports and practices to help students succeed in school. Please join me in cosponsoring a bill that will introduce The Multi-Tiered System of Supports in our schools to create a safe and successful educational environment. |