The revised Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA,
2004) has offered a change of practice regarding the identification of students with a
learning disability. Under IDEA (2004) educators are encouraged to use Response to
Intervention (RTI) as a method to determine eligibility for special education services. In
an RTI process, regular education and special education teachers review the performance
of all students and jointly make decisions on how to support those who are struggling.
Principals in particular need to understand the fundamental components of RTI and the
strategies necessary for leading an effective implementation. There is limited research on
the role of the principal in an effective RTI implementation process. This study aims to
fill a void in the research on how a principal navigates the implementation of such a
large-scale school-wide reform effort.
EVIEW