Practice Guides

The PBIS District Practice Guide: Leadership Team Planning Using the DSFI contains resources for District Leadership Teams (DLTs) and the personnel who provide technical assistance to district teams. The PBIS District Practice Guide will (a) describe how to use the DSFI assessment results to build concrete action planning steps for districts implementing PBIS and (b) help teams achieve and maintain a score a “2 = Fully Implemented” on each of the DSFI items. Each chapter focuses on the key functions and tasks of the team along with relevant sections of the DSFI.

This brief shares considerations for organizing a state-level response to support schools and districts in recovery from school-based gun violence. This brief will provide considerations for (1) organizing and preparing coordination and response teams, (2) defining the response scope, (3) identifying and vetting additional personnel, (4) planning and implementing the response, (5) supporting communications, and (6) reviewing the state-level response for areas of improvement and providing ongoing support.

This guide aligns the implementation of high-leverage practices (HLPs) for students with disabilities, developed by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) in partnership with the Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability and Reform (CEEDAR), with the PBIS framework. Integration of HLPs across the full continuum of supports offers a systematic way to meaningfully include support students with disabilities.

This Practice Guide can be used by multidisciplinary teams within a multi-tiered system of support as a resource for overcoming challenges and setting up teams for success. The five effective teaming elements are described, as well as how to structure teams to enhance functioning and outcomes within schools.

This practice guide is an updated version of Supporting and Responding to Student Behavior (Office of Special Education Programs, 2015). "Supporting and Responding" summarizes evidence-based, positive, and proactive practices that support and respond to students’ social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) needs in classrooms and similar teaching and learning environments (e.g., small-group activity).

This document provides information to contextualize PBIS in the classroom for deaf students to better address unique needs and create more effective learning environments. Guided by PBIS core features, “top ten” practices are identified to support and respond to students’ social, emotional, and behavioral needs in the classroom with considerations for deaf students.

This practice guide is one of a set of resources for increasing equity in school discipline. The guides are based on the Center on PBIS’s 5-Point Equity Approach, which has been shown to be effective in increasing equity in schools. These 5 points include (a) using disaggregated discipline data, (b) ensuring that multi-tiered behavior frameworks are culturally responsive, (c) using engaging instruction, (d) developing effective policies, and (e) reducing implicit bias in discipline decisions. This guide addresses using discipline data.

The focus of this guide is on supporting school, district, and state education leadership teams in centering equity in their data-using culture and data-based decision-making processes to redesign and transform systems for equitable health and learning. It includes specific companion dialogue guides to support teams in implementing practices and practical strategies to center equity in all of their work—including the ways in which they gather, analyze, and use data in their school-wide whole-person work. ©2023 WestEd. All rights reserved.This document was published by WestEd and is supported by funds provided by the U.S. Department of Education cooperative agreements with the Center to Improve Social and Emotional Learning and School Safety at WestEd (S424B180004) and the Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (H326S180001). Its content does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the funder, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Suggested Citation is included in the document.

This guide provides recommendations and strategies for addressing confidentiality as teams work together in an interconnected system within schools. It is not intended to provide comprehensive legal guidance, rather to facilitate discussion and decision making to ensure students get the supports they need.

This guide is intended to be used in conjunction with the practices guide: Supporting and Responding to Students’ Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Needs: Evidence-Based Practices for Educators (Center on PBIS, 2022). It provides updated guidance on how to (a) develop systems to support educators’ implementation of evidence-based classroom practices and (b) use data to guide the development of implementation supports.

This guide describes the use of a multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) framework, like positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS), to restart classrooms and schools in a manner that all students, families, and educators are supported effectively, efficiently, and relevantly. This guide is not a primer on MTSS or PBIS. (For a basic introduction, visit PBIS.org.6) This guide is a set of considerations for experienced leadership teams to enhance, adjust, or adapt state, district, school, and classroom action plans to (a) meet their needs during the phases of crisis response and recovery and (b) return to a safe and positive learning environment.

The purpose of this guide is to assist Tier 3 or MTSS District Teams in supporting school level and student level implementation of Tier 3 supports. These system features include procedures for teaming, professional development/training, coaching, data systems and evaluation, student support provisions and student and family engagement.

With multiple sources of information available, knowing how to use data efficiently and effectively with limited resources is critical to the successful implementation of schoolwide, classroom, and individual interventions. In this practice guide, we describe a scientifically-based approach for data-based decision-making called Team-Initiated Problem Solving (TIPS) that includes guidance for school-based teams on (a) the foundations needed to run more effective meetings, (b) a process for using data to identify school needs and goals for change as well as for planning practical and effective solutions, and (c) a process for using, monitoring, and adapting solutions.

This brief provides considerations for conducting and implementing functional behavior assessments (FBAs) and behavior intervention plans (BIPs) using virtual technology.

Tier 3 Student Level Systems support all students who are not responding to Tier 1 and Tier 2 supports and would benefit from intensive strategies matched to individual student needs. Student challenges may include behaviors that range from disruptive behaviors to aggression (externalizing) and/or suicidal ideation, depression, or anxiety (internalizing). These behaviors might be impacted by trauma or crisis situations (temporary or permanent) or driven by mental health needs. Tier 3 behavioral supports may be helpful for any student, no matter the (dis)ability, who needs support to meet intensive social, emotional, and behavioral needs. This guide can assist all educators with understanding the systems that must be established to support students with intensive needs.

The purpose of this practice guide is to assist Tier 3 Systems Teams, or combined Advanced Tiers (Tier 2 and 3) Systems Teams, in developing the foundational Tier 3 school-level systems features.

The purpose of this guide is to describe how school-based personnel can build and implement a continuum of function-based supports at Tier 3 that are designed to more effectively meet the needs of a broader range of students who struggle with persistent challenging behavior. This guide is intended to be a resource for individuals and teams with a working knowledge of Tier 3 who regularly design and implement supports for students with intensive needs.

The purpose of this practice guide is to help teams conduct a comprehensive functional behavior assessment, develop a function-linked behavior intervention/support plan, and make data-based decisions. Functional behavior assessments help teams to identify the relation of targeted serious and intense (i.e., challenging) behavior to the environmental events that occur before and after the behavior is performed.

Universal behavior screening data can be used with other school data to provide educators with valuable information about the overall level of students’ performance at Tier 1 as well as an indicator of students who may need additional supports. In this brief, we offer guiding questions to interpret screening data in a three-step process: examine student performance for the school as a whole, consider teacher-delivered, low-intensity supports, and make decisions for students who might require Tier 2 and Tier 3 supports.

This guide provides guidance to educators implementing positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) in the classroom across the continuum of student need. Educators regularly provide a range of supports for students in the classroom—from universal supports for all students to intensive and individualized supports for a few students. This guide will help educators familiar with PBIS organize classroom supports for preventing, teaching, and responding to students’ social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) needs across the continuum.

This guide is intended to increase the frequency and quality of conversations about race, racism, and current events regarding race in K-12 classrooms to support students and provide voice and self-reflection. It includes recommendations and tips for creating statements of support, preparing for and facilitating constructive classroom discussions, addressing harmful statements, and designing lesson plans and units for ongoing learning.

The EC-BOQ Cultural Responsiveness Companion is a resource for coaches and teams implementing the Pyramid Model to improve the fit of their Pyramid systems with the needs of children and their families. Teams may use this tool either during the initial Pyramid Model implementation to build cultural responsiveness into systems from the beginning or after initial implementation to enhance equity within existing systems.

This document is a set of strategies and key practices to restart classrooms and schools in a manner that students, their families, and educators can use effectively, efficiently, and relevantly in the current climate.

One of the key principles of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is to focus on building prosocial skills, not simply attempting to eliminate challenging or problem behavior. We encourage all schools to continue that focus, as well as other key principles of PBIS, as you address the COVID-19 pandemic. The following are a few simple recommendations educators can embed across a continuum of supports.

One of the key principles of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is to focus on building prosocial skills, not simply attempting to eliminate challenging or problem behavior. We encourage all schools to continue that focus, as well as other key principles of PBIS, as you address the COVID-19 pandemic. The following are a few simple recommendations educators can embed across a continuum of supports.

This field guide outlines an integrated framework to embed equity efforts into school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS) by aligning culturally responsive practices to the core components of SWPBIS. The goal of using this guide is to make school systems more responsive to the cultures and communities that they serve. This guide is part of a 5-point intervention approach for enhancing equity in student outcomes within a SWPBIS approach.

This abbreviated state guide describes the use of a multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) framework to support students, families, and educators during the transitions back to school during and following the global pandemic in a manner that prioritizes their health and safety, social and emotional needs, and behavioral and academic growth.

This abbreviated school guide describes the use of a multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) framework to support students, families, and educators during the transitions back to school during and following the global pandemic in a manner that prioritizes their health and safety, social and emotional needs, and behavioral and academic growth.

This abbreviated district guide describes the use of a multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) framework to support students, families, and educators during the transitions back to school during and following the global pandemic in a manner that prioritizes their health and safety, social and emotional needs, and behavioral and academic growth.

This Practice Guide describes and illustrates how schools, with support from coaches and district/community leaders, can benefit from the integration of mental health supports within the PBIS Framework. District/school leaders and coaches can use this information to support their efforts building an Interconnected Systems Framework (ISF) of mental health and PBIS. This Guide highlights practical strategies from one school’s successful experiences, including indications of the impact on students’ success while building strong partnerships with families and community partners. Suggested Technical Assistance strategies for coaches are provided.

The Interconnected Systems Framework (ISF) is a process to create a more stream-lined approach to school mental health and wellness by connecting all social-emotional-behavioral (SEB) efforts through one system, while eliminating barriers inherent in systems that previously have operated separately. This Practice Guide describes and illustrate how district/community leaders can embed mental health supports within the PBIS framework to create a unified and comprehensive system of social-emotional-behavioral (SEB) supports in schools. One district’s experience building such an Interconnected System Framework (ISF) is portrayed including how they engaged community partners, families and school personnel. Technical assistance strategies and tools for coaches guiding the ISF process in districts/communities and schools are included.

As educators have become increasingly aware of the impact of trauma on the school success of children and youth, they have been investing in professional development about how to address childhood trauma in schools. However, evaluation to support evidence of impact are lacking.This Guide describes how to integrate trauma-informed approaches into the PBIS framework to ensure efforts are linked to student outcomes. Strategies and tools to ensure effectiveness are included.

This guide highlights 5 key practices for teachers and families to support all students, including students with disabilities, at school and home. For each practice, the guide provides (a) tips for teachers to support students with disabilities during instruction; (b) tips for families that educators can share to support or enhance learning at home, especially during periods of remote instruction; and (c) free-access resources that include strategies shown to be effective by research (e.g., informational guides, downloadable materials, research-based programs).

Students experiencing trauma, such as from public health crises, weather disasters, or other upsetting events, may have been exposed to unpredictable schedules, inconsistent supervision, or food insecurity and desperately need school to be their safest, most predictable, and most positive setting, especially if they have been displaced or are without utilities or basic comforts. Multi-tiered Systems of Supports (MTSS), such as PBIS, are ideal frameworks for implementing strategies to support students coming back to school and to prevent and address further challenges. We recommend the following six strategies for school teams to ensure a safe, predictable, and positive school year. These strategies are beneficial for all students if the school has been closed, as well as for individual students returning from extended time away from school.

Students experiencing trauma, such as from public health crises, weather disasters, or other upsetting events, may have been exposed to unpredictable schedules, inconsistent supervision, or food insecurity and desperately need school to be their safest, most predictable, and most positive setting, especially if they have been displaced or are without utilities or basic comforts. Multi-tiered Systems of Supports (MTSS), such as PBIS, are ideal frameworks for implementing strategies to support students coming back to school and to prevent and address further challenges. We recommend the following six strategies for school teams to ensure a safe, predictable, and positive school year. These strategies are beneficial for all students if the school has been closed, as well as for individual students returning from extended time away from school.

This technical guide is intended to support data selection and use at the Tier 1 level for classrooms and is not intended to describe the more intensive data collection strategies required to support students or educators receiving Tier 2 or 3 supports.

This guide shares lessons learned from the past five years working with State Education Agency (SEA) and Local Education Agency (LEA) School Climate Transformation Grantees. SEAs and LEAs are more likely to use SCTG resources

Positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) provides an ideal framework for promoting social-emotional competencies to improve outcomes for the whole child. The purpose of this brief is to describe how school personnel can teach social-emotional competencies within a PBIS framework to support systematic, school-wide implementation through one system, rather than trying to improve student outcomes through separate, competing initiatives.

Bullying incidents and other concerning behaviors present educators with significant, immediate challenges in supporting students. Rather than waiting for these behaviors to occur and reacting, we encourage educators to adopt positive and proactive practices to support students and prevent these behaviors from occurring.

The purpose of this technical guide is to provide a structured alignment process with concrete steps to assist educational leaders as they examine current practices across educational units and systems (instruction, support, improvement, special education, mental health, justice), consider the extent to which current practices are implemented with fidelity and produce meaningful academic and social/behavioral outcomes, and establish support systems to select install and implement new practices.

The guides are based on a 5-point multicomponent intervention described. This guide addresses equity policies.

This guide was developed to provide an overview of recommended practices for student behavior within effective school-wide and classroom systems. To be most useful, the implementation of these practices and supports should be led by a team and integrated within a multi-tiered positive support framework in which all students have maximum opportunities and direct access to effective academic and behavior instruction curricula school and classroom wide.