| The persistent achievement gap between English learners (ELs) and native English speakers, coupled with a disproportional representation of ELs in special education programs, provide evidence that schools struggle to meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students. Response to intervention (RtI) is a school wide intervention program intended to provide interventions to underachieving students and a systematic method for identifying students with learning disabilities. This quantitative study explored the influence of the RtI framework on reducing special education referrals and qualifications of ELs. Descriptive and inferential statistics revealed that the implementation of RtI did not influence the frequencies of EL referrals to special education, reduce their qualifications, specifically in the areas of specific learning disabilities, or influence their grade of referral. This study provides school administrators with reasons to evaluate the effectiveness and quality of RtI programs and examine the fidelity with which RtI programs are implemented. |
