The State Board of Education approved a policy change for using a Response to Instruction and Intervention (RTI²) framework as the means to identify a student with a specific learning disability (SLD) as of July 1, 2014. The State released an RTI² manual and requirements for meeting the expectations in August 2013, with the most recent updates completed in August 2023. The manual includes guidelines for high-quality Tier I instruction, skills-specific universal screening, research-based intervention, progress monitoring, and identification of students with a specific learning disability. The August 2023 revision of the RTI² manual includes specific guidance for addressing characteristics of dyslexia through the framework. TN Public Chapter 1058 from 2016 requires schools to provide appropriate tiered dyslexia-specific intervention for students identified with characteristics of dyslexia, which include difficulties with Basic Reading Skills and Reading Fluency that often impact Reading Comprehension. Dyslexia-specific interventions must be explicit, systematic and cumulative, multisensory, language-based, and aligned to individual student needs. MNPS seeks to identify the most effective evidence-based, skills-focused literacy interventions to assist schools in facilitating growth for students identified as at risk through the RTI² and special education frameworks.
