Organizing School & District Systems with a Multitiered System of Supports (MTSS)

MTSS is a widely adopted and evidence-based educational framework that allows school staff to efficiently provide varying levels of support to students based on their individual needs. This system ensures that students receive the appropriate level of support in both academic learning and social/emotional/behavioral health. MTSS allows school and district teams to incorporate a variety of school and district systems that can support student behavior into a single framework that is highly responsive to student need.

A defining feature of MTSS is its three-tiered continuum of supports. As part of this approach, each school and district system in an MTSS framework:

Provides universal (Tier 1) supports that all students access, including students with disabilities
Can be leveraged to respond to individual student needs with evidence-based practices that provide the student with targeted support (Tier 2) or intensive support (Tier 3)

RREI Demonstration Site Finding: Tier 1 Supports Must Reach All Students

Every student served by school staff should have access to Tier 1 supports. This includes students who receive any of their special education services in separate programs or classrooms. Any such spaces, and students served in those spaces, should have the same Tier 1 resources and supports as general education classrooms.

MTSS neither excludes nor is exclusive to students with disabilities. The tiered framework addresses all student needs across all areas (academic, social, emotional, and behavioral). Services and accommodations in a student’s IEP or 504 Plan should supplement – not replace – the tiered support available to every student within an MTSS framework. A hallmark of strong implementation is that each student can access supports as soon as they are needed. Tier 1 supports should be provided to each and every student, including each student with a disability regardless of their placement. Similarly, Tier 3 supports should be available to students who need them, regardless of the student’s eligibility under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) or Section 504.

How Do Effective MTSS Teams Make Decisions Based on Data?

To respond to student needs, MTSS teams engage in data-based decision making. Typically, school and/or grade-level teams, including team members involved with different school and district systems, come together to review the effectiveness of their tiered supports and decide if changes need to be made. Common processes and agenda items include:

Ensure Effectiveness of Tier 1: Review school-wide data (e.g., office disciplinary referrals by time of day and location) and reflect on whether Tier 1 supports in the building are adequate to support all students. If patterns in student difficulties are observed (e.g., the team finds that most discipline referrals occur at recess):
- Adjust Tier 1 supports to address the pattern (e.g., address recess supervision, material and equipment use, and/or scheduling to prevent interfering behaviors)
- During the next team meeting, revisit school-wide data to determine if Tier 1 adjustments had the intended effect or if further adjustments are needed
Tier 1 to Tier 2 Decision Making: Identify students who are experiencing difficulty (academically, socially, emotionally, or behaviorally) and for whom Tier 1 supports do not seem to be adequate, and:
- Ensure each student is still accessing Tier 1 supports
- Review relevant student data in identified area(s) of need, and determine which student(s) need additional Tier 2 support from one or more school systems
- Identify the appropriate Tier 2 intervention for the identified student(s) and implementation roles and responsibilities for staff
Tier 2 Progress Review: Review progress of students receiving Tier 2 supports and make decisions about maintaining, increasing, or decreasing the intensity of support
Tier 2 to Tier 3 Decision Making: Identify students who receive Tier 2 supports and continue to experience difficulty, or students who have not yet received Tier 2 supports but demonstrate significant risk, and:
- Ensure each student is still accessing Tier 1 supports
- Review relevant student data in identified area(s) of need
- When appropriate based on the review of relevant student data, refer the student to the appropriate Tier 3 individualized supports
Tier 3 Progress Review: Review progress of students receiving Tier 3 supports and make decisions about maintaining, increasing, or decreasing the intensity of support

In an MTSS framework, teams share the responsibility of making decisions and implementing supports. Decisions are driven by high-quality data, collected over time, from multiple sources. Teams engage families, students, and community partners to plan, implement, and improve services. Staff and community partners provide a continuum of supports to students through a tiered delivery system, starting with strong core instruction. Staff use evidence-based practices to accelerate student learning across all tiers.