Members of the Tennessee ELA standards committee asked the department to add clearer language in Appendix D about tiered interventions commonly called RTI or MTSS.

During the implementation-resources discussion, Chair Kurnegas and committee members raised concerns about how the standards would intersect with local intervention systems. The committee asked whether the appendix should reference tier 1, tier 2 and tier 3 interventions and how teachers should use standards guidance with students who receive supplemental instruction. Brianna, department staff, said the appendix currently focuses on tier 1 instruction and that the department could draft additional language: "The language pertains specifically to tier 1 instruction. If we feel like more language is needed, ... perhaps the department to draft some language," she said.

A practicing special education teacher who joined the meeting from Shelby County Schools described how intervention blocks are scheduled and how RTI is implemented in her district: she reported a 45-minute daily intervention block five days a week with a mix of online program time and small-group, in-person instruction, and that many students in her caseload were functioning multiple grade levels below their enrolled grade. The committee cited those practical accounts while asking staff to add clarifying guidance in Appendix D about how tier 2 and tier 3 interventions relate to grade-level standards enforcement.

The committee directed the department to draft an explanatory paragraph in Appendix D describing RTI/MTSS (tiers, typical pacing and how intervention instruction should be coordinated with grade-level standards), and to flag where district and school scheduling choices affect implementation of the standards. Staff were asked to coordinate with foundational-literacy experts and local practitioners to produce language that is accurate to current practice and state guidance.