“The Shelby County Board of Education has adopted new specific learning disability guidelines,” according to a story by Fred Guarino in the Shelby County Reporter (Columbina, AL, US). Although it is hard to understand them from the report, the guidelines include references to response-to-intervention (RTI) concepts. What’s really interesting, though, is that it appears the Shelby County LEA plans to embrace RTI and discrepancy at the same time.
Also subsequent to intervention of “research proven strategies/curricula, demonstrate a severe discrepancy between intellectual ability and achievement in one or more of” basic reading skills, reading comprehension, mathematical calculation, mathematical reasoning, oral expression, listening comprehension or written expression.
Further, “No single criterion or specific number of characteristics can be used in identifying children with specific learning disabilities. Rather, the age-appropriateness of observed behaviors and the frequency, intensity and duration of a child’s learning problem are critical in distinguishing specific learning disabilities from learning problems resulting from such factors as low motivation, underachievement, or inadequate instruction.”
Link to Mr. Guarino’s story.
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