Is Your MTSS System Outdated?
And who is it really working for?
Are you - and your students- actually getting the full benefit of your MTSS System?
I’ve been sitting with that question ever since attending several breakout sessions at the Council for Exceptional Children Convention in Salt Like City a few weeks ago.
You know that uncomfortable moment when you think you’ve got a solid grasp on best practice…
… and then new research gently (or not so gently) taps you on the shoulder and says, “It’s time to rethink.”
That’s where I am right now.
A Quick Flashback: What We Thought We Knew
I was first trained in MTSS back in 2015 as a SWIFT-FIT evaluator through the SWIFT Center at the University of Kansas.
At the time, MTSS felt like a powerful, organized way to support students:
Tier 1: Strong core instruction for all.
Tier 2: Targeted support for some.
Tier 3: Intensive, individualized intervention.
We looked at both academic (RTI) and behavioral (PBIS) systems, often running side by side. And we asked all the right questions:
Are decisions based on reliable data?
Are supports evidence-based?
Are we verifying fidelity of implementation?
Are all faculty prepared?
Are families involved?
It was structured. It was logical. It was… incomplete.
Here’s what’s shifting in my thinking - and maybe yours, too.
1. Two Systems = Fragmented Students
Many schools still run RTI and PBIS as separate systems.
But students don’t experience themselves in pieces. The same student struggling with reading may also be navigating anxiety, behavior challenges, or social dynamics.
When we separate systems, we unintentionally separate the student. It’s like a doctor treating only your cough while ignoring your fever.
The Shift:
One unified MTSS system that looks at the whole student.
The National Center on PBIS announced they are working on resources to support schools to integrate the two systems.
2. MTSS is for ALL Students - Yes, Including Students with IEPs
This one surprised me. Not because it’s new, but because it’s still not happening everywhere.
Students with disabilities are sometimes excluded from MTSS because of “separate services” or funding streams.
But Tier 1 is for ALL students.
And Tier 2 and Tier 3 supports should include students with IEPs alongside their peers.
That’s not just good practice. That’s the least restrictive environment in action.
Then special education services and supports are in addition to what is available for everyone.
3. Consistency Matters More Than We Admit
In one session at the CEC Convention, a consultant described a school where:
🫙One teacher used a marble jar.
🌟One teacher gave stickers.
📊One teacher used a color-coded behavior chart.
Individually? Fine.
Collectively? Confusing.
Students move between classrooms all day long. When every classroom operates differently, the system stops being a system.
The Shift:
Clarity and consistency - with room for teacher voice, but not chaos.
She described the unified system created by their faculty and the impact on outcomes.
4. Hidden Stigma is Still Stigma
This one hits deep.
We may not intend to shame students… but our systems sometimes do it quietly.
📈Public data walls.
⬆️⬇️Group names that signal “low” or “high”.
📢Pull-outs that feel like announcements.
I still remember my first grade reading group.
Not the lesson.
Not the teacher.
The label. I was in the “Robins” reading group, wishing I could be a “Cardinal". But at least I wasn’t a “Buzzard”. And that memory has lasted a lifetime.
So… Is Your MTSS System Current?
Or, is it quietly holding on to outdated assumptions?
Separate systems instead of integrated support.
Inclusive in theory, but not in practice.
Individual classrooms instead of a coherent system.
Support structures that unintentionally signal “less than”.
None of this is about blame. It’s about evolution.
Because the truth is, most of us built what we were taught… and now we’re being asked to build something better.
Let’s talk.
I’m genuinely curious: Where is your MTSS system strongest right now? And where might it be unintentionally working against the very students it was designed to support? Or even more simply…
If a student could redesign your MTSS system based on their experience, what would they change first?
