What Are Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 Supports for Students Who Have Disabilities?

What are teachers talking about when they tell you your student is receiving (or they are proposing your student receive) Tier 1, Tier 2, or Tier 3 supports?

Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 supports refer to levels of instructional and behavioral interventions designed to meet the diverse needs of students, including those who have disabilities. These tiers reflect the intensity of support a student may need, ranging from universal strategies for all learners (Tier 1), to targeted interventions for students at risk (Tier 2), to intensive, individualized services for students with significant needs (Tier 3).

These three tiers are part of an education framework known as the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS). While MTSS is not a special education program, it plays an important role in supporting students who may need special education services.

According to the U.S. Department of Education's (USDOE) Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), "A culturally and linguistically responsive multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) is a comprehensive prevention framework designed to improve developmental, social, emotional, academic, and behavioral outcomes using a continuum of evidence-based strategies and supports. Within an MTSS framework, educators implement:

• universal strategies and supports designed for all children,

• targeted strategies and supports for children with additional needs, and

• intensive strategies and supports to meet the specific needs of individual children."

Historical Background

In 1997, OSEP funded the first national Technical Assistance (TA) center to explore how to incorporate a variety of behavioral practices into a school-wide framework.

USDOE’s document "Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports Implementation Blueprint: Part 1 – Foundations and Supporting Information” provides a brief history:

"The terminology “Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports” was first indicated in the Individuals for Disabilities Education Act of 1996, and has been referenced in subsequent reauthorizations in 2000 and 2006" and that "the priority for The OSEP Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) was developed in 1997. . . . In the 1990s, the PBIS Center adopted the three-tiered prevention logic that was promoted by the public health community to conceptualize the “multi-tiered behavioral framework.” In 2007, a blended continuum (below right) was developed to reduce the focus on static tiers and tiered labeling and to increase the emphasis on prevention logic. As the magnitude of the problem increases, so does the need for (a) resources to address the problem, (b) enhancements to teaching and learning environments, (c) collecting and using data for decision making, (d) teaming and coordination, and (e) engagement with and feedback to students."

In 2001, President George W. Bush created the President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education (Executive Order 13227) and charged it with "collect[ing] information and study[ing] issues related to Federal, State, and local special education programs with the goal of recommending policies for improving the educational performance of students with disabilities. report.

July 1, 2002, Terry E. Branstad, Chairman of the President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education, submitted the Commision's report—"A New Era: Revitalizing Special Education for Children and Their Families"—to President Bush. It emphasizes early intervention and data-based instruction, and advocates for a shift toward Response to Intervention (RTI) models over the IQ-achievement discrepancy model for identifying learning disabilities.

RTI was incorporated into federal law in 2004, through Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004. According to 20 U.S.C. § 1414(b)(6)(B), "In determining whether a child has a specific learning disability, a local educational agency may use a process that determines if the child responds to scientific, research-based intervention as a part of the evaluation procedures."

MTSS gained broader recognition in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015. ESSA defines MTSS as:

"The term ‘multi-tier system of supports’ means a comprehensive continuum of evidence-based, systemic practices to support a rapid response to students’ needs, with regular observation to facilitate data-based instructional decisionmaking."

The Three Tiers of MTSS

USDOE's report "Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports Implementation Blueprint: Part 1 – Foundations and Supporting Information" outlines the three tiers in the following manner:

“Tier 1: Primary (Universal): Preventing the development of new cases (incidence) of problem behaviors by implementing high quality learning environments for all students and staff and across all settings (i.e., school-wide, classroom, and nonclassroom).

“Tier 2: Secondary (Targeted): Reducing the number of existing cases (prevalence) of problem behaviors that are presenting high risk behaviors and/or not responsive to primary intervention practices by providing more focused, intensive, and frequent small group oriented responses in situations where problem behavior is likely.

“Tier 3: Tertiary (Intensive): Reducing the intensity and/or complexity of existing cases (prevalence) of problem behavior that are resistant to and/or unlikely to be addressed by primary and secondary prevention efforts by providing most individualized responses to situations where problem behavior is likely.”

Examples of Tier 1 supports include: