The purpose of this critical disability study was to examine the perspectives of elementary teachers in the public school setting, with the use of a qualitative research design, in order to answer the following research questions: What are educators' understandings of how RTI is impacting teaching and learning in elementary schools? What are educators' understandings of how RTI is impacting disabled and nondisabled students? What are educators' understandings of what policies, if any, are needed to safeguard disabled students against practices embedded in ableism? School districts were examined and chosen according to their student composition as listed in the Setting Description of the Illinois Interactive Report Card (IIRC, 2013). Six participants were chosen according to the teacher's grade level (3rd-5th), area of specialty (general or special education), and the particular school in which he/she is employed; they were asked to participate in a series of three individual interviews and a focus group. The researcher began with general questions relating to the RTI process, followed by more probing questions about the perceived impact of RTI in the school system. The researcher used a funneling approach when questioning participants in order to promote the flow of a broad conversation to a more narrowed and focused discussion. The researcher recorded all discussions on an audio recording device, which were then transcribed for analysis. The researcher reviewed the transcripts and the literature surrounding disability studies and RTI in order to analyze for common themes that emerged, allowing the researcher to make interpretations. The researcher focused on discusses how the four themes that emerged from the teacher interviews--student abilities are inaccurately portrayed, language differences are inadequately understood, interventions are standardized, and there are limited teacher voices in the RTI process--are related to ableism and what this means in the current RTI system, which affects the students in our public school system. The findings indicate the following: Schools are engaging in oppressive policies; the current assessment policies, intervention policies, and collaboration policies are steeped in ableism; and a change in policy requires a collaborative effort committed to uncovering ableism and working toward more socially just education for all students. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]