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Positive Behavioral Supports and the Law

Since Congress amended the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1997, Positive Behavioral Supports (PBS) has held a unique place in special education law.  PBS, referred to as Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports in IDEA, is the only approach to addressing behavior that is specifically mentioned in the law.  This emphasis on using functional assessment and positive approaches to encourage good behavior remains in the current version of the law as amended in 2004.

Why Emphasize PBS?

Congress' reasons for encouraging the use of PBS are clear and stem from (a) the historic exclusion of individuals with disabilities based on unaddressed behavior and (b) the strong evidence base supporting the use of PBS.

In 1972, the court in Mills v. Board of Education of the District of Columbia (348 F.Supp. 866 (D.D.C. 1972)) found that students with disabilities were being excluded from educational opportunities for issues related to behavior (among other reasons).  Congress intended to address this exclusion in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as the Supreme Court in Honig v. Doe (484 U.S. 305 (1988)) clarified, saying:

Congress very much meant to strip schools of the unilateral authority they had traditionally employed to exclude disabled students, particularly emotionally disturbed students, from school (p. 323).

Yet the decision of the Honig court did not end concerns about behavior and discipline of children with disabilities.  Congress recognized the need for schools to use evidence-based approaches to proactively address the behavioral needs of students with disabilities.  Thus, in amending the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act both in 1997 and in 2004, Congress explicitly recognized the potential of PBS to prevent exclusion and improve educational results in 20 U.S.C. § 1401(c)(5)(F):

 (5) Almost 30 years of research and experience has demonstrated that the education of children with disabilities can be made more effective by—

 (F) providing incentives for whole-school approaches, scientifically based early reading programs, positive behavioral interventions and supports, and early intervening services to reduce the need to label children as disabled in order to address the learning and behavioral needs of such children (emphasis ours).

IDEA's Requirements to Use Functional Assessments and Consider PBS

While Congress recognized the potential of PBS, it was hesitant to dictate any one educational approach to schools.  Indeed, Congress was careful to balance the need to promote the education of children with disabilities and the right of states to govern their own educational systems.  IDEA's requirements regarding the use of functional assessments and PBS reflect this balance.  IDEA requires:

  • The IEP team to consider the use of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports for any student whose behavior impedes his or her learning or the learning of others (20 U.S.C. §1414(d)(3)(B)(i)).
  • A functional behavioral assessment when a child who does not have a behavior intervention plan is removed from their current placement for more than 10 school days (e.g. suspension) for behavior that turns out to be a manifestation of the child's disability (20 U.S.C. §1415(k)(1)(F)(i)).
  • A functional behavioral assessment, when appropriate, to address any behavior that results in a long-term removal (20 U.S.C. §1415(k)(1)(D)).

To examine whether federal law (IDEA) requires the IEP team to consider PBS in response to a particular situation, or to identify other legal requirements for a situation involving the behavior or discipline of a student with a disability, we recommend you try out this online IDEA discipline provisions tool.

IDEA, Professional Development and PBS

Congress further recognized that, to encourage implementation of PBS, funds needed to be allocated to training in the use of PBS.  Thus, IDEA provides additional support for the use of PBS in its provisions by authorizing states to use professional development funds to "provide training in methods of . . . positive behavioral interventions and supports to improve student behavior in the classroom" (20 U.S.C. §1454(a)(3)(B)(iii)(I)).  Congress also provided for competitive grant funds that can be used to:

  •  Ensure that pre-service and in-service training, to general as well as special educators, include positive behavior interventions and supports (20 U.S.C. §1464 (a)(6)(D) & (f)(2)(A)(iv)(I)).
  •  Develop and disseminate PBS models for addressing conduct that impedes learning (20 U.S.C. §1464(b)(2)(H)).
  •  Provide training and joint training to the entire spectrum of school personnel in the use of whole school positive behavioral interventions and supports (20 U.S.C. §1483(1)(C & D)).

Professional development is key to proper implementation of PBS and the improved behavioral outcomes that PBS can foster.  After all, for an IEP team to truly "consider" the use of PBS requires knowledge of PBS, discussion of its use, and the capacity to implement PBS to improve outcomes and address behavior.


Behavior Function: Staying Close to What We Know

Since the reauthorization of IDEA in 1997, attempts to implement function-based behavior supports have increased. We view these efforts as important enhancements toward improving the effectiveness, efficiency, and relevance of educational programming for students with problem behaviors. However, we are becoming increasingly concerned by the potential for misapplication and over-extension of the function-based approach to behavior support programming. Thus, the purpose of this brief commentary is to describe considerations in the identification of behavior functions. This commentary describes potential misapplications in the identification of behavioral functions and offers readings for a more complete review of the issues and process.

IDEA 2004: Final Regulations and the Reauthorized Functional Behavioral Assessment

This article discusses school administrators’ continued legal support for their use of functional behavioral assessment and positive behavioral interventions and strategies for supporting children with disabilities who exhibit problem behaviors under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 and its implementing regulations. This article will help school and legal administrators unacquainted with concepts versant to behaviorists, close the knowledge gap and learn the functional behavioral assessment’s purpose, application and implementation to more effectively train and manage personnel through the process. The outcome for school administrators in obtaining the legal and practical knowledge presented here will be to improve school climate.

IDEA, Positive Behavioral Supports, and School Safety

A five-part article describes and analyzes the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and a behavioral intervention technique called "positive behavioral interventions, supports, and strategies" (PBS). Suggests guidelines for applying PBS within the framework of IDEA, especially as it applies to discipline of students covered by the Act.

The IDEA amendments of 1997: A school-wide model for conducting functional behavioral assessments and developing behavior intervention plans

This article presents Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requirements on functional behavioral assessments (FBAs), describes the process of conducting an FBA, explains the legal requirements for developing measurable goals and benchmarks or short-term objectives, describes the development of a behavior intervention plan, and presents a school model.