ABSTRACT
In the past two decades, tiered systems of support have become an increasingly common framework for delivering interventions for all children and youth in general education settings regardless of whether they receive special education services. Although there are many strengths of tiered systems, some features of current approaches may limit their impact and relevance for students with exceptionalities. We discuss tiered systems through the lens of a dynamic, person-in-context perspective of youth development and consider how current models of service delivery may be reframed to center intervention and supports on the developmental needs of students with exceptionalities. We present targeted universalism and tiered systems of adaptive support as a model for delivering services that are responsive to individual students and the diverse ways that they may experience the classroom context. The focus of this model is to utilize data on students’ daily functioning to foster individual adaptation on key developmental factors linked to important academic, behavioral, and social outcomes. Considerations for future research are also discussed.
