Building Proactive Systems to Support FBA-BIPs
Functional behavioral assessments (FBAs) are research-backed tools used by schools to support students whose behavior interferes with learning. FBAs are a team-based approach to evaluating why a student is engaging in a specific behavior. To conduct an FBA, school-based teams collect direct and/or indirect data on the environmental factors related to the target behavior, including antecedents, or what happens before the behavior occurs, and consequences, or what immediately follows the behavior. Patterns in these environmental factors are used to determine the hypothesized function of the behavior, or the reason why the behavior is occurring. School teams then use the hypothesized function to create a function-based behavioral intervention plan (BIP; often called a behavior support plan or positive behavior support plan). The BIP includes interventions based on the hypothesized function that prevent the behavior from occurring antecedently, teach appropriate replacement behaviors that serve the same function, and modify responses to the behavior to remove reinforcement for the target behavior and increase reinforcement for the replacement behavior.
FBA-BIPs are supported by decades of research and have been used in schools with increasing frequency following the 1997 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disability Act. At the federal level, FBA-BIPs are required when a student has a change in placement or when the team determines that student’s behavior was a manifestation of their documented condition following a manifestation determination. Positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS), though not FBA-BIPs specifically, should be considered under IDEA when a student’s behavior interferes with learning. State laws vary, but often also require FBA-BIPs following discipline-related incidents, such as restraint or seclusion, or suspensions. Due to the nature of the laws related to FBA-BIPs, they are often conducted when a student’s behavior has escalated to the point that an MD is required or a change of placement is necessary. At this point, the behavior is typically very disruptive to the school environment or dangerous to students or others, and it requires an expeditious response.
Because FBAs rely on evaluating patterns in student behavior, they often take time and rely on intensive data collected over time. This is particularly true with more complex and intense behaviors, which may occur across settings or serve multiple functions. When student behavior has escalated, and schools are legally required to conduct an FBA-BIP, it can be difficult for schools to conduct a technically adequate FBA to support an effective BIP in a safe and timely way. However, if proactive systems are in place to support student behavior, schools can be better prepared when behavior does escalate, and they are legally required to complete an FBA on a tight timeline. The following strategies can help schools build systems that ensure proactive behavior support.
“Although FBA-BIPs are often viewed as a last resort when student behavior has escalated, there is a strong evidence base for their use to support any student whose behavior interferes with learning through function-based support applied across a progression of need.”
Function-Based Support
Although FBA-BIPs are often viewed as a last resort when student behavior has escalated, there is a strong evidence base for their use to support any student whose behavior interferes with learning through function-based support applied across a progression of need. In fact, federal guidance recommends incorporating FBA-BIPs into a tiered prevention framework (e.g., multi-tiered systems of support [MTSS] or PBIS). Within this model, at Tier 1, staff can use function-based thinking when developing class-wide supports. When providing Tier 2 supports, staff can use the function of behavior to determine which Tier 2 intervention is most appropriate. Finally, at Tier 3, more formal FBA-BIPs can be used to support students with varying levels of intensive, individualized needs (i.e., a brief or basic FBA for non-dangerous, less complex behavior, and a comprehensive FBA-BIP with wraparound services for more intense behaviors). Recently, one U.S. district was able to prevent special education referrals by designating district staff to work specifically with general education students whose behavior interfered with learning. By providing support across a range of needs for any student whose behavior interferes with learning, regardless of additional needs, schools can often provide effective interventions before a behavior escalates.
“By providing support across a range of needs for any student whose behavior interferes with learning, regardless of additional needs, schools can often provide effective interventions before a behavior escalates.”
Developing Staff Capacity
Conducting technically adequate FBA-BIPs requires training, but research demonstrates that many school staff can develop the necessary skills. FBA-BIPs are conducted by an array of staff, including behavior specialists, school psychologists, special education teachers, school counselors, and administrators; though schools frequently depend on one or a small group of these individuals to conduct all FBA-BIPs within the school. This often leads to these personnel having an overwhelming caseload and requires the capacity of experts for all FBA-BIPs. However, while some more complex FBA-BIPs for students with intensive needs may require significant expertise and experience, much student behavior can be effectively addressed with a less intensive, basic, or brief FBA-BIP, which requires fewer team members, more basic data collection, and can be done more efficiently by individuals with less intensive training. Multiple studies have shown that school staff in various roles can be trained to conduct FBA-BIPs, particularly brief or basic ones.
By providing differentiated FBA-BIP support using the previously mentioned tiered model, schools can mirror staffing expertise to match intervention intensity. All school staff can be trained on function-based thinking to support universal function-based interventions and ensure that BIPs are implemented with fidelity; staff in multiple roles can be trained to conduct less complex FBA-BIPs for students whose needs move from targeted to individualized but are still low-intensity, and more experienced staff who have expertise in FBA-BIP can use their capacity for more complex cases.
Developing Local Supports
Students who require an expeditious FBA-BIP often also require high-intensity supports that may extend beyond the capacity of school or district resources. It is critical for schools and districts to develop a network of local supports and partnerships to expand capacity by improving access to existing resources.
Comprehensive support, often termed “wraparound services,” allows schools to provide an array of student supports. One example of this is the City Connects program in the Northeast, which coordinates and delivers local services in schools through an external City Connects Coordinator. This individual facilitates a range of local-based services to support all students and can serve as a valuable resource when schools need to rapidly access intensive, comprehensive services. Similar programs can support coordination and reduce obstacles to accessing supports for students with intensive needs.
Supporting students with intensive needs is a complex process that often requires coordination and many resources. By developing effective systems to support all students through a preventative approach, schools can ensure that individuals with appropriate training and expertise have the capacity to conduct quality FBA-BIPs in an expeditious manner that ensures that students receive effective, research-backed, and technically adequate support.
“It is critical for schools and districts to develop a network of local supports and partnerships to expand capacity by improving access to existing resources.”
