Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports (PBIS)

In the past, school-wide discipline has focused mainly on reacting to the specific student misbehavior by implementing punishment-based strategies including reprimands, loss of privileges, office referrals, suspensions, and expulsions. Research has shown that the implementation of punishment, especially when it is used inconsistently and in the absence of other positive strategies, is ineffective. Teaching, modeling, and reinforcing positive social behavior is an important step of a student’s educational experience. Teaching behavioral expectations and rewarding students for following them is a much more positive approach than waiting for misbehavior to occur before responding. The purpose of a school-wide PBIS is to establish a climate in which appropriate behavior is the norm.

1. Intervene early. It is best practice to intervene before problem behaviors occur. Universal teaching of expected behaviors allows for early and effective intervention.
2. Use of a multi-tier model. PBIS uses an efficient system to match behavioral resources with student need. To achieve high rates of student success for all students, instruction in the schools must be differentiated. To efficiently differentiate behavioral instruction for all students, PBIS uses tiered models of service delivery.
3. Use research-based interventions. Research-based interventions provide our best opportunity to implement strategies that will be effective for a large majority of students.
4. Use data to make decisions. A data-based decision regarding student response to the interventions is central to PBIS practices. Decisions in PBIS practices are based on student Office Discipline Referral (ODR) and performance data. School-Wide Information System (SWIS) is used to make informed planning decisions for individual students and to determine building needs.
5. Monitor student progress to make data-based decisions about interventions. As in academics, the best method to determine if a student is improving is to monitor the student’s progress. The use of assessments that can be collected frequently and that are sensitive to small changes in student behavior are used. Determining the effectiveness (or lack of) an intervention early is important to maximize the impact of that intervention for the student.

Systems
Written policies, procedures, and expectations are some of the systems put in place by schools implementing PBIS. These systems help maintain a consistent approach to behavior.

Data
The data collected helps school teams make informed decisions about managing behavior and measuring outcomes. The data is also used to find the right mix of practices and systems for each school.

Practices
Classroom lessons teaching desirable behavior help students to understand what is expected of them. Likewise, educators follow a set of ‘best-practices’ that have been identified for their school. These practices keep both students and staff moving forward with PBIS.

Outcomes
The results of PBIS can be measured by both academic and behavioral changes in students. These outcomes are measured using the PBIS data collected and academic achievement data.