We will be like Max the Mountain Lion and be LEADERS….

• I am Kind
• I am Responsible
• I am Respectful

Postive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is an evidence-based, tiered framework for supporting students' behavioral, academic, social, emotional and mental health. When implemented with fidelity, PBIS improves social emotional competence, academic success and school climate. It also improves teachers' health and wellbeing. It is a way to create positive, predictable, equitable and safe learning environments where everyone thrives. We use 'students' to refer to all children and youth in any educational or therapeutic setting (e.g., K-12 school, early childhood program, juvenile justice program). Learn more about PBIS in schools, classrooms and early childhood programs and juvenile justice programs on those topic pages.

Schools implementing PBIS:

• Use a continuum of evidence-based practices to support student needs
• Engage students, families and community members to co-create culturally responsive practices
• Regularly check the effectiveness of their practices
• Rely on teams to guide implementation
• Use data to identify strengths, uncover needs and monitor student progress
• Implement universal screening
• Develop content expertise through coaching and on-going professional development

PBIS is not curriculum you purchase or something you learn during one-day professional development training. It is an ongoing commitment to supporting students, educators and families through system change. When we implement PBIS well, students experience improved behavioral, social, emotional and academic outcomes; schools and programs reduce their use of exclusionary discipline practices and improve their overall climate.

Five Elements

PBIS emphasizes five inter-related elements; equity, systems, data, practices and outcomes.

Equity

Leadership teams work with members of the school or program community- students, families and community members- to prioritize valued outcomes and promote high expectations for all students. Centering equity also means supporting educators' roles in implementation, adapting practices to meet students' individual needs and disaggregating data by student groups to ensure success for everyone.

A question we hope to answer is: How can we enhance the experiences and outcomes of each educator and student?

Systems

Foundational systems establish the way our school and program operate. Systems include teaming structures, training, coaching and other support for educators. In PBIS, these systems support accurate, durable implementation of practices and the effective use of data to achieve better outcomes.

As you think about the data available to you, we ask: What information do we need to make effective decisions about our PBIS implementation and outcomes?

Data

Our school generates a wide range of data about students. Within the PBIS framework, teams use data to select, monitor and evaluate outcomes, practices and systems across all three tiers.

Practices

The schools and classroom practices we implement are critical to supporting students and creating a positive school climate. In PBIS, these interventions and strategies are backed by research and target the outcomes for our school and community.

As you think about the evidence-based practices we implement, we ask: How will we support our students' behavioral, social, emotional and academic growth?

Outcomes

The ultimate goal of implementing PBIS data, systems and practices is to improve outcomes. Families, students and educators set goals and work together to achieve them. In PBIS, outcomes might include behavioral, social, emotional and academic growth; a positive school climate or fewer office discipline referrals.

As you think about the outcomes we want to achieve, we ask: What is important to each of our communities?

Tiered PBIS Framework

Educators and practitioners provide a continuum of academic, behavioral, social and emotional support matched to students' needs. We describe this continuum across three tiers of support.

Foundational systems across all three tiers include:

• A shared vision for a positive school social culture
• A representative leadership team that meets regularly and shares expertise in coaching, social, emotional, behavioral, academic, equity, mental health, physical health, wellness and trauma
• Families are actively engaged
• A supportive and involved school administration
• On-going access to professional development for preparing all staff to implement each tier of PBIS
• Systematic collection of screening, progress-monitoring, outcome and fidelity data
• Ongoing use of data for decision making
• Disaggregating data to examine equity among student subgroups

Tier 1: Universal, Primary Prevention (All)

Tier 1 systems, data and practices support everyone — students, educators and staff — across all school settings. They establish a foundation for positive and proactive support. Tier 1 support is robust, differentiated and enables most (80% or more) students to experience success. Tier 1 practices include:

• Collaborating with students, families and educators to define positive school/program-wide expectations and prioritize appropriate social, emotional and behavioral skills.
• Aligning classroom expectations with school/program-wide expectations
• Explicitly teaching expectations and skills to set all students up for success
• Encouraging and acknowledging expected behavior
• Preventing and responding to unwanted behavior in a respectful, instructional manner
• Fostering school/program-family partnerships

Tier 2: Targeted, Secondary Prevention (Some)

In addition to your tier 1 foundation, students receiving Tier 2 get an added layer of systems, data and practices targeting their specific needs. On average, about 10-15% of your students will need some type of Tier 2 support. The support you provide at Tier 2 is more focused than at Tier 1 and less intensive than at Tier 3. Tier 2 practices include:

• Providing additional instruction and practice for behavioral, social, emotional and academic skills
• Increasing adult support and supervision
• Providing additional opportunities for positive reinforcement
• Increasing prompts or reminders
• Increasing access to academic support
• Increasing school-family communication

TIer 3: Intensive and Individualized, Tertiary Prevention (Few)

At most schools and programs, there are a small number (1-5%) of students for whom Tier 1 and Tier 2 support has not been sufficient to experience success. At Tier 3, students receive more intensive needs, whether they receive special education services or not. Tier 3 practices include:

• Engaging students, educators and families in functional behavioral assessments and intervention planning
• Coordinating support though wraparound and person-planning
• Implementing individualized, comprehensive and function-based support