New Guide for District Leaders: Connecting MTSS, RTI, and Special Education
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    An MTSS Solution for Illinois Educators

    Join 250,000+ educators who are using Branching Minds to improve student outcomes.

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    SPED MTSS IL
    Stronger Students | Stronger Illinois

    Supporting the Priorities Shaping Illinois Schools

    Illinois schools are advancing MTSS, addressing chronic absenteeism, strengthening collaboration across teams and families, and meeting behavioral threat assessment requirements under 105 ILCS 128/45. Branching Minds brings these initiatives together in one connected platform.

    Branching Minds helps Illinois districts:

    • Strengthen MTSS implementation across every school
    • Catch chronic absenteeism early and act before it escalates
    • Improve collaboration among teams and families to support every student's success
    • Standardize behavioral threat assessment across every Illinois school, aligned with 105 ILCS 128/45

    A Unified Platform for Illinois Schools

    Branching Minds gives Illinois educators one connected platform to identify student needs, coordinate supports, strengthen collaboration, and make informed decisions across every school.

    MTSS Platform Icon

    One Cohesive MTSS Platform

    Unify academic, behavior, and social skill supports in one cohesive MTSS platform.

    Chronic Absenteeism

    Chronic Absenteeism

    Spot early signals and take action.

    Collaboration

    Better Collaboration

    Strengthen collaboration among teams and families to support every student's success.

    Safety Insights

    NEW: Illinois Threat Assessment

    Standardize behavioral threat assessment, documentation, and follow-up, aligned with 105 ILCS 128/45.

    Meeting Illinois's School Safety Requirements

    Standardize Behavioral Threat Assessment Across Every School

    Illinois law (105 ILCS 128/45) requires every school district to establish a threat assessment team and a formal threat assessment procedure as part of its school board policy on targeted school violence prevention. 

    Canopy Case Management helps districts standardize behavioral threat assessment workflows, document threat classifications securely, coordinate follow-up, and connect students with the supports identified through the assessment — all within your existing MTSS workflow.

    Evidence-Based Assessment Workflows

    Evidence-Based Assessment Workflows

    Guide multidisciplinary threat assessment teams through a consistent protocol aligned with 105 ILCS 128/45.

    Secure Case Documentation

    Secure Case Documentation

    Document assessments and follow-up activities in one secure, centralized system.

    Response plan tracking

    Response Plan Tracking

    Assign next steps, monitor follow-up, and keep multidisciplinary teams aligned throughout the process.

    Integrate Threat Assessment & MTSS

    Integrate Threat Assessment & MTSS

    Connect safety insights to holistic student data and targeted supports, so teams see the whole student — not just the incident in front of them.

    Transforming Student Support at Evanston/Skokie School District 65

    EvanstonSkokie School District 65

    Proud to Partner with Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

    Branching Minds supports Illinois districts, including Chicago Public Schools, with a unified MTSS platform that turns data into action, driving stronger interventions and better outcomes for every student.

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    Proudly Partnering with Districts Across Illinois

    Success Story

    How CCSD 59 Flipped Its Triangle and Transformed Student Support

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    "The systemic change had a huge impact on morale, teacher confidence, confidence in what they’re doing, our collaborative practices as a team, and how we support students."

    Products / Features Used

    Community Consolidated School District 59 and Branching Minds

    A System-Level MTSS Platform

    Branching Minds isn’t new to MTSS or to Illinois.

    We’re a team of educators, learning scientists, and technologists who’ve helped hundreds of districts make MTSS actually work. Our unified platform connects academic, behavioral, and social-emotional supports, turning complex data into clear, research-grounded decisions.

    Branching Minds Educator
    mtss Branching Minds platform overview

    Identify Who Needs Support and Why

    • Proactively identify which students need support by automatically applying cut points to assessment data.
    • Examine why students may struggle using reading and math Insight Surveys.
    • Understand where and for whom the core needs strengthening, with access to targeted instructional resources.

    What IL Educators Are Saying

    "Branching Minds is the communication tool we were missing for teachers and staff to communicate effortlessly about students with fidelity."

    Dr. Christine Baldwin

    Director of Curriculum, Indian Springs School District, IL

    "The step by step directions for every process, along with weekly check-in meetings with our data specialist for additional guidance and accountability, set us up for success with implementation."

    Amanda Taxis

    MTSS Coordinator, Somonauk Community School District 432, IL

    "The chat feature is very helpful. I get a timely response, which allows me to support teachers when they come to me with questions."

    Shujuanana

    Educator, Chicago Public Schools, IL

    "Branching Minds itself as a platform is really easy to use and navigate. It was really helpful, the data and everything already lived there about the student's profile. For us that helped with the team approach that it didn't fall on one person."

    Dr. Jess Plaza

    Director of Student Supports and Services, Evanston Skokie, IL

    "Branching Minds not only holds the documentation, it facilitates the process. It allows the team conversations to get to that action-based solution finding."

    Trisha Senne

    Coordinator of Assessment and MTSS, CCSD59, IL

    "Having a platform like Branching Minds just makes it so easy to understand why we're doing what we're doing. Everything is all in one place. There's so many little pieces that gives us that full picture and everyone that works with that student has access to that. So that helps us achieve what we need to do to help the kids achieve."

    Josie Giannini

    Interventionist, Lee School, Norridge School District, IL

    Proudly Certified

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    MTSS Resources for Illinois School & District Leaders

    Illinois MTSS Funding: A Guide for District Leaders

    Article

    How Illinois Districts Can Fund RTI/MTSS Infrastructure: A Practical Guide for District Leaders

    Learn how Illinois districts can fund MTSS infrastructure using Title I, IDEA, CEIS, Title IV-A, School Improvement, and local funds.

    MTSS-Buyers-Guide-2026

    Guide

    The MTSS/RTI Buyer's Guide

    How to choose and fund an MTSS software platform.

    How To Utilize Behavior Staff Effectively

    Article

    How To Utilize Behavior Staff Effectively in MTSS/PBIS

    A leader dedicated to student success can effectively utilize behavior staff to make positive, lasting changes for staff and students i...

    Ready to Make Student Support Simpler and Stronger?

    Discover how Branching Minds streamlines MTSS, empowers educators, and improves student outcomes, starting today.

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