Back to the Future: A Critique of Response to Intervention's Social Justice Views

The emergence of Response to Intervention (RTI) anticipates a different future for all students, particularly learners from racial minority backgrounds and students with disabilities. RTI is being widely adopted in school districts as a viable alternative to enhance learning opportunities; hence, some education scholars argue it promises a much-needed response to longstanding injustices for underserved students. RTI aims to address injustices in the distribution of educational opportunities and recognition of underserved groups of students. The authors identify the underlying views of social justice that permeate RTI and conclude with a closer look at RTI's justice claims embedded in some implementation procedures. They propose it is important to revisit the anticipated future promised by RTI through the refinement of the social justice perspectives used in this literature.