School-wide Positive Behavior Supports: Implications for Special Educators

1. School-wide Positive Behavior Supports: Implications for Special Educators Tim Lewis, Ph.D. University of Missouri OSEP Center on Positive Behavioral Intervention & Supports pbis.org

2. The Challenge Students with the most challenging academic and social behavior problems need pro-active comprehensive and consistent systems of support School-wide discipline systems are typically unclear and inconsistently implemented – absence of a “social behavior curriculum” Educators often lack specialized skills to address severe problem behavior and learning challenges Pressure on schools to incorporate national and state initiatives such as Values Education, Anti-Bullying,Safe Schools andachieving “adequate yearly progress.” Many often have clearly defined outcomes without structures to reach or a framework for deciding what should be implemented when, for whom, and to what degree

3. Behavior Challenges Common school response to problem behavior = “punishment” of misbehavior and assumptions about appropriate behavior and/or seek out alternative placements

4. The Danger…. “Punishing” problem behaviors (without a proactive support system) is associated with increases in (a) aggression, (b) vandalism, (c) truancy, and (d) dropping out. (Mayer, 1995, Mayer & Sulzar-Azaroff, 1991, Skiba & Peterson, 1999)

5. The Good News… Research reviews indicate that the most effective responses to school violence are (Elliot, Hamburg, & Williams, 1998;Gottfredson, 1997; Lipsey, 1991, 1992; Tolan & Guerra, 1994): • Social Skills Training • Academic Restructuring • Behavioral Interventions

6. Toward a Solution The answer is not the invention of new solutions, but the enhancement of the school’s organizational capacity to: • Accurately adopt and efficiently sustain their use of research-validated practices • Provide a Seamless continuum of behavioral and academic support for all students • Be part of a district wide system of behavior support • Increased focus, teacher training, community training, and funding for early intervention

7. School-wide Positive Behavior Support SW-PBS is a broad range of systemic and individualized strategies for achieving important social and learning outcomes while preventing problem behavior OSEP Center on PBIS

8. Social Competence & Academic Achievement Positive Behavior Support OUTCOMES Supporting Decision Making Supporting Staff Behavior DATA SYSTEMS PRACTICES Supporting Student Behavior

9. Tertiary Prevention: Specialized Individualized Systems for Students with High-Risk Behavior CONTINUUM OF SCHOOL-WIDE INSTRUCTIONAL & POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT ~5% Secondary Prevention: Specialized Group Systems for Students with At-Risk Behavior ~15% Primary Prevention: School-/Classroom- Wide Systems for All Students, Staff, & Settings ~80% of Students

10. Universal Strategies: School-Wide Essential Features • Statement of purpose • Clearly define expected behaviors (Rules) • Procedures for teaching & practicing expected behaviors • Procedures for encouraging expected behaviors • Procedures for discouraging problem behaviors • Procedures for record-keeping and decision making (swis.org) • Family Awareness and Involvement

11. Benton Elementary

12. Universal Strategies: Nonclassroom Settings • Identify Setting Specific Behaviors • Develop Teaching Strategies • Develop Practice Opportunities and Consequences • Assess the Physical Characteristics • Establish Setting Routines • Identify Needed Support Structures • Data collection strategies

13. Universal Strategies:Classroom • Use of school-wide expectations/rules • Effective Classroom Management • Behavior management • Instructional management • Environmental management • Support for teachers who deal with students who display high rates of problem behavior

14. Why build strong universal systems of support? • We can’t “make” students learn or behave • We can create environments to increase the likelihood students learn and behave • Environments that increase the likelihood are guided by a core curriculum and implemented with consistency and fidelity across all learning environments

15. Outcomes of Universal Supports

17. Alton High SchoolAverage Referrals per Day

22. Group Cost Benefit Office Referral Reduction Across 12 PBIS schools= 5,606 If one Office Referral=15 minutes of administrator time, then 5,606 x 15= 84,090 minutes 1401.15 hours or 233 days of administrator time recovered and reinvested.

23. Group Cost Benefit Office Referral Reduction Across 12 PBIS Schools =5,606 If students miss 45 minutes of instruction for each Office Referral, 5,606 X 45= 252,270 minutes 4204.50 hours or 700 days of instructional time recovered!!!!!

24. Enrollment 200 50% free and reduced lunch Ages 13 and up Programs Serves 8 component districts Physically Impaired Autism Language Impaired Hearing Impaired Multiple/ Severe Disabilities Emotional/ Behavioral Disorder Self-contained Special Education Building - St. Louis

25. Self Contained School • Supported by PBS Coach • Prior to implementing school-wide system, Identified 33 students (17%) with chronic behavior teachers felt would require intensive individualized plans

26. Reported Results • Reduction in inappropriate behavior (verbal aggression, sleeping in class, off task, disruption) • Increased prosocial behaviors and task completion • Post universal systems, only 5 students (2%) required intensive individualized support plans

27. Prevention & Supports For Identified and At-risk Students Social Behavior

28. Mental Health Outcomes • Does School-wide PBS fit within a comprehensive mental health model of prevention and intervention? Minimizing and reducing “risk factors” by building “protective factors”

29. Risk and Protective Factor Comparison t = -2.17 (37) p < .036 t = 2.31 (37) p < .026 Partial N=21 Full N=18 Partial N=21 Full N=18

30. A&D = Alcohol and Drug; ABS = Anti-social Behavior Scale

31. Impact on Moving Students to More Restrictive Settings Columbia Public Schools • Elementary Schools who implement SW-PBS referred students to alternative/special school at lower rates compared to schools who were not implementing SW-PBS (r = -0.4306, p < 0.01) • Elementary Schools who implemented SW-PBS have less recidivism to alternative settings once students returned to home-school

32. Prevention & Supports For Identified and At-risk Students Achievement

35. Small Group and Individual Interventions Supporting Students At-Risk and those with Disabilities Within Their Home School

36. Important Themes • Part of a continuum – must link to school-wide PBS system • Efficient and effective way to identify students • Assessment = simple sort • Intervention matched to presenting problem but not highly individualized

37. Small Group/TargetedAssessment • Focus is on sorting student for service, not “diagnosis and placement.” • Social-Behavioral Concerns • Social skills • Self-management • Academic Concerns • Peer Tutors • Check in • Homework club • Emotional Concerns • Adult mentors

39. Table 1. Pre- and Posttest Scores for Subjects on Dependent Variable (SSRS-T) * Significance at the .05 P Value

42. Individual Support Plans • When small group not sufficient • When problem intense and chronic • Driven by Functional Behavioral Assessment • Linked to school-wide system

43. Does Implementation of PBIS improve individual interventions? • Illinois “profile” analysis. • Assessment of intervention effectiveness Very Low, Low, Med, High, Very High 0 1 2 3 4 • School-wide • Individual Intervention

44. t = 11.11 (335) p< .0001 • t = 2.30 (27) p < .03 N=223 N=38 N=17 N=169 Partial N=169 Full N=223 Partial N=17 Full N=38

45. Individual PBS Success requires: • Individual(s) with expertise in FBA-PBS • Fluency with a clear process among all staff including their role • A basic understanding of the Applied Behavior Analysis = Behavior is functionally related to the teaching environment

47. Academic Challenges Common school response to academic challenges = send to specialists to “be fixed”

48. Academic Systems Behavioral Systems • Intensive, Individual Interventions • Individual Students • Assessment-based • High Intensity • Intensive, Individual Interventions • Individual Students • Assessment-based • Intense, durable procedures • Targeted Group Interventions • Some students (at-risk) • High efficiency • Rapid response • Targeted Group Interventions • Some students (at-risk) • High efficiency • Rapid response • Universal Interventions • All students • Preventive, proactive • Universal Interventions • All settings, all students • Preventive, proactive Designing School-Wide Systems for Student Success 1-5% 1-5% 5-10% 5-10% 80-90% 80-90%

49. Response to Intervention

50. Consistent “core” curriculum implemented school-wide (research-based) Core instruction follows effective instructional practices (NWREL.org) Core instruction implemented with fidelity Consistent, prioritized, and protected time allocated to instruction Data decision rules to identify a) those at high risk and b) “non-responders” in a timely manner Universal Supports: Core Instruction