The IDEA reauthorization of 2004 highlights the application of responsiveness to intervention (RTI) to both early intervention (EI) service delivery and learning disabilities (LD) identification practices, creating the potential for wide-scale execution. Implementation of any educational reform necessitates more than simply changing practices: It is important to understand the foundation upon which the reform stands, as well as the questions yet unanswered by research. This review of literature, therefore, emphasizes what is known about RTI as well as what remains to be learned, beginning with foundational concepts-model iterationsand moving to applications-EI and LD identification. Ultimately, the complexities of the RTI construct, with its potential for systemic change, necessitate a partnership between researchers and practitioners to both implement and further investigate RTI on a wide scale.

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Designed to improve preK-12 student academic and behavioral outcomes, a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), such as Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS) or Response to Intervention (RTI), is a broadly applied framework being implemented in countless schools across the United States. Such educational restructuring and system changes require school counselors to adjust their activities and interventions to fully realize the aims of MTSS. In this special issue of The Professional Counselor, the roles and functions of school counselors in MTSS frameworks are examined from various angles. This introductory article summarizes the key issues and the basic themes explored by the special issue contributors.

Comprehension instruction for students with learning disabilities (LD) is explored from three perspectives, all within the framework of engaging students in meaningful conversations about text with their general education peers. First, excerpts from lesson transcripts are provided to illustrate one special educator’s emphasis on student-generated questions about text, a comprehension strategy highlighted by the National Reading Panel. This same instruction is next considered from the viewpoint of the research base in special education to integrate principles of explicit instruction. Finally, student-generated questioning is presented from a third perspective not typically seen in special and general education: making transparent the relationships between comprehension strategies and active reading. Guided practice with tasks such as developing questions is unlikely to build the comprehension skills of struggling readers without explicit connections to the task of making meaning while reading text.

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