• WHAT FUNDING SOURCES ARE AVAILABLE FOR HIGH-DOSAGE TUTORING?

• HOW ARE THE TERMS INTERVENTION, REMEDIATION, AND ACCELERATION DEFINED IN THE CONTEXT OF HIGH-DOSAGE TUTORING AND THE THIRD GRADE READING GUARANTEE?
• HOW DOES HIGH-DOSAGE TUTORING FIT INTO THE MULTI-TIERED SYSTEM OF SUPPORTS (MTSS) FRAMEWORK?
• WHAT ARE THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS FOR DISTRICTS AND SCHOOLS?

• DO TECHNOLOGY-BASED PROGRAMS LIKE SUCCESS MAKER, LEXIA CORE 5, IXL, AND I-READY CONSTITUTE HIGH-DOSAGE TUTORING?

• CAN A DISTRICT OR SCHOOL DISCONTINUE HIGH-DOSAGE TUTORING FOR STUDENTS ON READING IMPROVEMENT AND MONITORING PLANS (RIMPS) IF THEY ARE DESIGNATED AS “ON-TRACK” OR READING “ON GRADE LEVEL” BY MID-YEAR?
• CAN A PARENT “OPT OUT” OF OR REFUSE HIGH-DOSAGE TUTORING?
• CAN HIGH-DOSAGE TUTORING EXTEND INTO THE SUMMER?
• HOW MIGHT DISTRICTS AND SCHOOLS SCHEDULE HIGH-DOSAGE TUTORING INTO THE SCHOOL DAY?
• WHAT RESEARCH IS AVAILABLE TO INFORM BEST PRACTICES FOR SCHEDULING HIGH-DOSAGE TUTORING?

• IN WHAT GRADE LEVELS IS HIGH-DOSAGE TUTORING REQUIRED, AND FOR WHOM?

• CAN AN IEP TEAM DETERMINE THAT HIGH-DOSAGE TUTORING IS NOT AN APPROPRIATE INTERVENTION DELIVERY MODEL ON A STUDENT-BY-STUDENT BASIS?
• DO STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES NEED TO BE PROVIDED TIER 1 INSTRUCTION AND INTERVENTION DAILY, AS WELL AS ADDITIONAL MINUTES OUTLINED IN THEIR IEP AND FOR HIGH-DOSAGE TUTORING?
• IS AN INTERVENTION SPECIALIST REQUIRED TO DELIVER HIGH-DOSAGE TUTORING?

• WHAT ARE THE LICENSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR HIGH-DOSAGE TUTORS?

• ARE DISTRICTS AND SCHOOLS OBLIGATED TO USE VENDORS FROM THE APPROVED VENDOR DIRECTORY FOR HIGH-DOSAGE TUTORING PROGRAMS?
• WHAT IS A “LOCALLY APPROVED OPPORTUNITY?”

Districts and schools may leverage allowable federal, state and local dollars to procure services from providers on the Department’s Approved Vendor Directory or in establishing locally approved high-dosage tutoring programs that follow best practices for high-dosage tutoring.

STATE FUNDS

FEDERAL FUNDS

Title I-A funds

In general, federal education funds, including funding under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) must be used in a supplemental manner, and not to supplant state and local funds that would otherwise be used to offer those programs and services. However, under ESEA section 1118(d) the use of Title I, Part A (including Supplemental School Improvement grant and Expanding Opportunities for Each Child grant) funds by subgrantees on programming that meets the intent and purpose of Title I (commonly known as Title I look-alike) may be excluded from supplement, not supplant and comparability determinations (34 C.F.R 200.79(b)). In this case, high-dosage tutoring could be considered as a Title I look-alike program when it is provided for struggling students in meeting the state’s challenging academic standards. However, the district should ensure they are budgeting state and local funds for “core educational programs” and not include the supplemental tutoring in the allocation methodology for supplement, not supplant.

Districts and schools are advised to contact their federal grants consultant for guidance.

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Intervention

Intervention is a systematic approach to targeting specific skills identified as the potential cause of reading difficulty. Intervention consists of enhanced opportunities to learn, including but not limited to, additional time with the core curriculum in small groups, other supplementary instruction or individualized intensive instruction.

Remediation

Remediation is a type of intervention. Also called “re-teaching,” remediation is an instructional technique used when a student has not demonstrated mastery of certain skills and consists of intensive instruction to address errors in understanding and foundational knowledge.

Acceleration

Acceleration is a type of intervention. Also called “accelerating learning” and “learning acceleration,” acceleration is an instructional technique used to provide “just in time” supports based on evidence of what the learner needs in order to master the grade level content currently being taught in the core classroom.

Note: Acceleration in this context is distinct from grade acceleration, early entrance to kindergarten or first grade, subject acceleration, or early graduation from high school per district acceleration policy approved under section 3324.10 of the Ohio Revised Code. Intervention and remediation as defined in this document are separate from special education services that a child may receive as part of an individualized education plan (IEP).

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Schools can align MTSS and high-dosage tutoring by using high-dosage tutoring in Tier II and Tier III as follows:

·       Tier II strategic support for identified students: using small-group tutoring grounded in the principles of high-dosage tutoring to support students failing to succeed in Tier I instruction.

·       Tier III intensive support: using 1:1 tutoring grounded in the principles of high-dosage tutoring to support students not responding to Tier II support.

A significant benefit of integrating high-dosage tutoring into MTSS is that the time for MTSS is already built into the school day. When schools integrate high-dosage tutoring into existing MTSS structures, it allows those existing, scheduled times in a student’s schedule to be used for high-dosage tutoring.

It is important to note that not all tutoring approaches are equal. The evidence base shows that specific best practices of high-dosage tutoring, when implemented with fidelity, result in academic gains for a wide variety of students. Specific best practices are outlined in the Third Grade Reading Guarantee Guidance manual.

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District and building administrators are responsible for ensuring that high-dosage tutoring is implemented according to state law, including (1) the requirements in ORC 3313.608(C)(7) and ORC 3301.163(D)(2) and (2) the best practices outlined on page 8 of the Third Grade Reading Guarantee Guidance manual.

In addition, districts and schools are required to report the high-dosage tutoring opportunities provided to students during the school year. Reporting instructions can be found in section 2.9 of the EMIS manual.

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These technology-based programs are examples of instructional materials. When selecting instructional materials for use during high-dosage tutoring in a locally approved opportunity, the following apply: 

·       Instructional materials should support a focus on acceleration, not remediation.  

·       Instructional materials should be aligned with current classroom instruction, grade-level state standards, and research on effective teaching and learning strategies aligned to the science of reading.  

·       Instruction should address missed concepts and skills that are most critical to accessing the upcoming content in the core classroom.

Additionally, high-dosage tutoring is provided by a person, either virtually or in-person, who uses high-quality instructional materials to accelerate student learning outcomes and is trained in how to use the high-quality instructional materials.   

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Districts and schools must continue to provide the RIMP until the student is reading proficiently at their current grade level. Benchmark data can be used to inform or modify the instructional supports required under a RIMP.

A RIMP, including intervention under a functioning multi-tiered system of support and high-dosage tutoring, must continue until a student scores:

·       On-track on the following school year’s fall reading diagnostic (grades K-3), or

·       Proficient (700) or higher on Ohio’s State Test for English language arts.

Under Ohio law, high-dosage tutoring is a requirement for all students on RIMPs and includes additional instruction time of (a) at least three days per week or (b) at least 50 hours over 36 weeks. As long as a student is on a RIMP, high-dosage tutoring should follow one of these options.

Under Ohio law, these same requirements also apply to EdChoice and Cleveland Scholarship students receiving required reading intervention services who did not score proficient on Ohio’s State Test for grade 3 ELA or an approved alternative assessment but promoted to the fourth grade through an exemption to retention.

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State law does not provide provisions regarding parental opt-out of the high-dosage tutoring requirements. It is recommended that districts and schools keep documentation of parent refusal of high-dosage tutoring. 

High-dosage tutoring is an essential component of the RIMP. In developing a student’s RIMP, districts and schools should involve the student’s parent or guardian and classroom teacher. Districts are encouraged to communicate with parents and guardians the importance of high-dosage tutoring opportunities in helping students improve their reading skills and achieving grade-level proficiency in reading as part of the plan-development process.  

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While not exhaustive, the following scheduling considerations may prove helpful as you begin to plan for high-dosage tutoring. Districts and schools may need to utilize multiple approaches to ensure each student has access to high-dosage tutoring.

·       High-dosage tutoring may be provided during a "no new instruction" block.

·       High-dosage tutoring may be provided during a second applied arts.

·       High-dosage tutoring can occur in a separate space apart from the student’s normal classroom where students from multiple classes are taken to form homogenous groups by mastery level and student need. 

·       Many school schedules have a consistent period that is flexibly used, such as advisory or homeroom. These periods can often be repurposed for high-dosage tutoring.

·       Some schools have a staggered two-period lunch, where half the students have lunch during the first period and half have lunch during the second. Each group’s non-lunch period can then be used for tutoring. 

·       If the school uses block scheduling and core instruction has extended periods, then tutoring can occur during the second portion of the extended classes once core instruction has concluded. This setup works best when blocks are consecutive; otherwise, attendance for the tutoring block may drop.

To boost attendance, avoid scheduling high-dosage tutoring during your first or last period. 

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High-dosage tutoring is required for all students on RIMPs.

Districts and schools must develop a RIMP for any student in grades K-3 who is not on-track on the reading diagnostic. Under Ohio law, a RIMP must now continue throughout the student’s K-12 academic career until the student is reading proficiently for their current grade level (a score of 700 or higher on Ohio’s State Test for English language arts). See pages 11-13 of the Third Grade Reading Guarantee Guidance manual for information about which students are required to have a RIMP in grades 4 and 5.

Under Ohio law, these same requirements also apply to EdChoice and Cleveland Scholarship students receiving required intervention services who did not score proficient on Ohio’s State Test for grade 3 ELA or an approved alternative assessment but promoted to the fourth grade through an exemption to retention.

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No, high dosage tutoring can be provided by a variety of educators including community members. This is addressed on page 4 in the Tutors section.

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No, districts and schools are not required to use a state-approved vendor from the Approved Vendor Directory if they provide the high-dosage tutoring through a locally approved opportunity that aligns with high-dosage tutoring best practices. Ohio law outlines that high-dosage tutoring can be implemented in one of two ways: 

1.      Through a state-approved vendor from the Approved Vendor Directory; or 

2.      Through a locally approved opportunity that aligns with high-dosage tutoring best practices.

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