It's April — testing season, flowers are blooming, and days are getting longer. This time of year is full of opportunity — and it's the perfect time to do a quick review of whether your student support systems are working. While it might feel too late to get anything else fixed before the end of the year (and therefore is an audit really helpful right now), there are small steps you can take now if you that will have an outsized impact on your end-of-year results. In this blog, we offer quick ways to spot-check your special education and multi-tiered systems of support...And most importantly, what to do about it now versus what can wait.
First, a quick primer.
MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) is your school's framework for identifying and supporting students who are struggling — before they end up in special education, and alongside students who already have IEPs. Think of it as the scaffolding. Special education is the legally mandated, individualized layer on top.
When both are working well, they're almost invisible: students get what they need, teachers know their role, and no group of kids looks dramatically different from the rest. When they're not working, you feel it — even if you can't always name it.
Here's the key distinction: MTSS problems show up when students with general learning or behavioral challenges aren't getting the right support. Special education problems show up when students with disability-related needs aren't being identified, served, or supported appropriately. They overlap — but the diagnosis and the fix are different. The questions and red flags below will help you figure out where to look first.
Your MTSS Might Be Broken If…
Signs that red flag evidence is present
These questions and opportunities for a quick audit surface whether your school has a functioning, shared response when students aren't learning — or whether "getting help" means getting handed off. Red flag answers signal that there are gaps in how MTSS is being implemented.
Talk to your teachers: When a student isn't learning, does your staff have a next step — or a next person to blame?
🚩 The answer is "we referred them" — and the classroom teacher checks out after that.
Look at your data: Are the same students stuck in the same intervention tier, month after month?
🚩 The same 10–15 kids have been in Tier 2 since October with no updated plan. Intervention has become a permanent placement, not a targeted response.
Sit in on an MTSS meeting: Does it end with a specific plan, or a good conversation that changes nothing?
🚩 Meetings feel like status updates. Everyone nods, nothing changes. There's no named action, no named owner, no date to check back.
Found some gaps? What you do…
✅ Right now fix: If teachers are handing off rather than problem-solving, you can reset that norm this month — a single team conversation about shared ownership goes a long way before June. Continue elevating follow-through and collaboration as a common theme at staff meetings and PD.
✅ Wait until summer: If your intervention tiers are poorly designed or your whole school schedule doesn't support flexible grouping, that's a restructuring project. Document what's broken now and build it into summer planning.
Your Special Education Program Might Be Broken If…
Signs that red flag evidence is present
These questions surface whether students with IEPs are actually receiving the individualized support they're entitled to — or whether the plan exists on paper but not in practice.
Call a family: Do parents of students with disabilities feel like partners — or like they're being managed?
🚩 Families are confused by jargon, surprised by decisions, or only called when there's a problem. They show up to IEP meetings to sign, not to co-create.
Ask your special ed coordinator: Can you name a student with an IEP who is making progress toward their goals?
🚩 Neither of you is sure. There's no person whose job it is to notice when a student goes off track.
Talk to your paras and related service providers: Are the adults closest to your most struggling students clear on their role?
🚩 Paras are managing behavior without clear guidance. Speech and OT providers feel like visitors — in and out, with little connection to what's happening in class.
Found some gaps? What you do…
✅ Right now fix: If families are out of the loop or a student has gone a full marking period without progress monitoring, those are this-week problems. Pull the team. Make a call. Recirculate IEP-at-a-Glances during the next staff meeting to provide a refresher to your teachers.
✅Wait until summer: If IEP quality, caseload structure, or how services are scheduled is the root issue — that's a summer redesign. It can't be patched mid-year without disrupting students
The goal isn't a perfect audit. It's a clearer picture.
April is hard. The year isn't lost, but it isn't over either — and that's exactly the point. The most strategic thing a school leader can do right now is conduct a quick pulse check to surface existing gaps. Then the key is knowing the difference between what needs attention before June and what needs a real runway to do right. That's not giving up — it's prioritizing. And getting that distinction right is exactly what makes the time you have left count.
If you found yourself nodding at more than one red flag, that's worth a conversation. Helping school leaders see their systems clearly — and figure out what to do next — is exactly what we do. Schedule a call with our team.
