This video features reflections from Bill Rasplica, the former executive director of Franklin Pierce Schools, about his experiences implementing DBI, lessons learned, and recommendations for other district leaders.

Special education teachers must have the skills to design and deliver intensive interventions for students with severe and persistent learning and behavioral needs. To ensure effective instruction for these students, preservice preparation programs must provide their teacher candidates with opportunities to learn, apply, and practice intensive intervention skills. Teacher preparation faculty play a critical role in ensuring the next generation of teachers have these opportunities.

After initial data-based individualization (DBI) implementation, schools and districts need to own the work and deliver ongoing support, including supports for new teachers within existing budgets and staff time. Planning for sustainability upfront can help district leaders to streamline their implementation efforts. In New York City, Jason Borges and Meghan Duffy from the New York City Department of Education have found several successful strategies for DBI implementation that have helped make DBI self-sustaining. This audio story shares their DBI implementation approach, successes, and lessons learned about sustainability. The recording is broken into three parts.

NCII developed this resource to help educators better understand the purpose of and considerations surrounding behavior screening in schools. Educators can use the information on this resource in conjunction with the Behavior Screening Tools Chart to (a) design a screening process for their school and (b) select or evaluate screening tools.

This interactive self-paced module is intended to help educators and administrators learn about using teaming to support the data-based individualization (DBI) process.

Wyoming's Intensive Intervention Implementation Story Beginning in 2016, the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) begin initial implementation of data-based individualization (DBI). It started with four teachers and is now used by hundreds of educators across the state. To support its local educators, the WDE hosts a robust website of DBI resources and available professional learning, including online learning modules and onsite coaching. While the WDE used resources available through the National Center on Intensive Intervention (NCII) for several years and formally joined the NCII as partner in 2020. The impact of the WDE’s DBI work is seen in its increasing state performance data for students with disabilities and the existing infrastructure developed to sustain supports for local educators implementing of DBI.

Texas's Intensive Intervention Implementation Story Through the partnership between NCII and the Texas Education Agency’s Office of Special Populations (OSP), OSP implemented DBI in two pilot schools, hosted a year-long community of practice for district administrators, and partnered with their multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) network to build modules to sustain DBI implementation. Through those modules, Texas will continue to train regional, district, and educators on the DBI process. View the video below to learn more about DBI implementation in Texas.  

South Carolina's Intensive Intervention Implementation Story The National Center on Intensive Intervention partnered with a team representing the Office of Special Education Services (OSES) at the South Carolina Department of Education, Dr. Pam Stecker from Clemson University, and Dr. Susan Thomas an educational consultant working with schools and districts in South Carolina to support data-based individualization (DBI) implementation within South Carolina. During this time, NCII worked with the team to build state capacity to support DBI and embed DBI into statewide efforts to support students with intensive needs, piloted DBI implementation with a school, built awareness through conference presentations and webinars, and held a community of practice with eight districts. View the video below to learn more about DBI implementation in South Carolina and the lessons learned along the journey.

Rhode Island's Intensive Intervention Implementation Story Since 2012, RIDE has learned alongside local education agency personnel (at both district and school levels) about what it takes to implement data-based individualization (DBI) within a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS). Early on in the work, two LEAs were deeply engaged in DBI implementation: Bristol Warren Regional School District and Coventry School District. After witnessing positive student outcomes for learners with severe and persistent academic and/or behavioral needs through DBI implementation, RIDE opted to invest more deeply in scaling both MTSS and DBI through the following initiatives: State Systemic Improvement Plan and BRIDGE-RI (the Home of MTSS in Rhode Island).

Oregon's Intensive Intervention Implementation Story For over 15 years the Oregon Response to Instruction and Intervention (ORTIi) project has worked with districts across the State of Oregon to implement comprehensive multi-tiered systems of prevention and intervention support to improve literacy instruction that would allow each and every child in the state to become a successful reader. In 2017, ORTII partnered with the National Center on Intensive Intervention and the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) to further build capacity for implementation of intensive intervention at the local education agency (LEA) level.