About the Center

National Technical Assistance Center on
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS)

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs and Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

www.pbis.org

Grant No. H326S180001

Center on PBIS Core Values and Actions

The Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) was initially funded in 1998. In October of 2018 a new five-year funding cycle was launched. The purpose of the new Center is to improve the capacity of state educational agencies (SEAs), local educational agencies (LEAs), and schools to establish, scale-up, and sustain the PBIS framework to (a) scale up tier 2 and 3 systems to improve outcomes for students with or at-risk for disabilities, (b) enhance school climate and school safety, and (c) improve conditions for learning to promote the well-being of all students. (If you are new to PBIS, find out how to get started)

Values

The Center on PBIS is grounded in the values of comprehensive prevention, based on human-centered science, and implemented through collaborative partnerships, centered in equity, to improve social, emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes.

  • Prevention includes holistic approaches, organized within a tiered prevention framework (PBIS), to proactively support each and every student, family, and educator through safe, positive, and inclusive instruction and support.
  • Science includes empirical research, informed and supported by local data and practice, that honors identities, improves outcomes, and enhances experiences of students, families, and educators,* who also inform and improve science.
  • Partnerships describes active collaborations with national, state, and local (students, families, and educators) stakeholders to co-create affirming, culturally sustaining, and productive learning environments.
  • Equity refers to actions that elevate historically marginalized voices; honor individual, family, and community identities; and reflect equitable learning opportunities through meaningful participation of each student, family, and educator in the systems we promote.
  • Improved outcomes—experienced by students, families, and educators—are the ultimate reason for and test of PBIS implementation.

Actions

The Center on PBIS achieves its aims through:

  • Delivering a continuum of technical assistance (TA) to SEAs and LEAs, including federal grantees, to build local capacity to implement, sustain, and scale PBIS.
  • Engaging multiple and diverse perspectives and lived experiences in TA, implementation, and evaluation.
  • Creating freely available resources (assessments, briefs, guides, and tools) to assist educators in implementing and sustaining PBIS across an extended array of contexts.
  • Providing model demonstrations of implementation of tiered PBIS framework and improved outcomes (e.g., social, emotional, behavioral, and academic growth).
  • Extending the lessons learned from PBIS implementation to the broader agenda of educational improvement and improved quality of life for students, families, andeducators.

*Educator is a broad term that includes all individuals within a school setting who support students (e.g., teachers, educational aides, administrators, counselors, school psychologists, administrative assistants, community mental health providers).

Organizational Structure

Project Officer

Mohamed Soliman, Office of Special Education Programs

Co-Directors

Heather George, University of South Florida

Tim Lewis, University of Missouri

Kent McIntosh, University of Oregon

Brandi Simonsen, University of Connecticut

Senior Advisors

Robert Horner, University of Oregon

George Sugai, University of Connecticut

Implementation Partners

Susan Barrett, Mid-Atlantic PBIS Network, Old Dominion University

Lucille Eber, Midwest PBIS Network

Jennifer Freeman, University of Connecticut

Steve Goodman, MiMTSS

Nikole Hollins-Sims, Midwest PBIS Network

Don Kincaid, University of South Florida

Kathleen Lane, University of Kansas

Brian Meyer, Midwest PBIS Network

Ruthie Payno-Simmons, MiMTSS

Kelly Perales, Midwest PBIS Network

Bob Putnam, The May Institute

Maria Reina Santiago-Rosario, University of Oregon

Brenda Scheuermann, Texas State University

John Seeley, University of Oregon

Mark Weist, University of South Carolina

Kim Yanek, Mid-Atlantic PBIS Network, Old Dominion University

External Evaluation Team

Robert O'Neill, University of Utah

Gwen Cartledge, The University of Ohio

Lise Fox, University of South Florida

Wendy Reinke, University of Missouri