Practice Briefs

There is a strong research base for practices associated with Positive Classroom Behavior Supports (PCBS). Much of this information can be found in the Center on PBIS publications from the classroom section of the website (https://www.pbis.org/publications/all-publications#classroom-pbis). An ongoing concern in the field is how to support educators in selecting and implementing with fidelity, the evidence-based practices matched to student needs. The classroom strand at the recent 2022 PBIS Leadership Forum provided information on high leverage social-emotional-behavioral practices. Strategies were provided for integrating academic and behavior supports. Additionally, specific ideas were shared for supporting students with disabilities within the classroom setting.

The purpose of this brief is to review the latest randomized controlled trial (RCT) examining effects of positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS), an example of a multi-tiered system of support for behavior (MTSS-B), on a range of student outcomes. The study explored one approach to implementing PBIS and focused on students’ behavioral and academic outcomes. Although it did not identify positive behavioral and academic effects for all students, students with the most behavior needs saw improved reading scores and decreased rates of disruptive behavior. Other important outcomes, including those related to classroom management and school climate, also saw some improvements. We share findings and key takeaways from this new study, in the context of the broader research literature, to guide local educational agency (LEAs) and state educational agencies (SEAs) in their use of MTSS to improve student outcomes.

Level systems are a widely used in alternative settings. When these settings adopt PBIS, it is important to consider design, implementation, and alignment of level systems with PBIS principles and practices. This Practice Brief stems from our Facilitated Discussion at the 2021 PBIS Leadership Forum. We describe themes that emerged from that discussion, and provide specific recommendations for aligning level systems with PBIS.

This demonstration features the collaborative work of a state-funded project matching university-based PBIS trainers with school level implementers in a rural setting. Strategies and lessons learned when implementing PBIS with fidelity during challenging times is shared. The information learned from this regional example highlights the need for considering adaptations to support the culture and context of rural settings while maintaining robust levels of fidelity and sustaining momentum for continued implementation. 

This practice brief provides practical, research-based strategies educators can use to de-escalate challenging student behavior in the classroom. Despite the development of supportive, safe, and predictable school environments, students may, at times, become agitated, and their behavior may escalate to unsafe levels. With some advance planning, educators can reduce reliance on reactive strategies, such as punitive or exclusionary practices (e.g., restraint, seclusion, suspension, expulsion) in favor of safer, more instructive, and inclusive approaches.

Students with disabilities benefit from positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS; Meyer et al., 2021). The use of schoolwide and classwide PBIS shows promise in helping educators to integrate evidence-based practices for the benefit of all students, including those diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The purpose of this brief is to provide educators with a quick and easy resource for identifying effective practices for supporting all students, especially those diagnosed with ASD within general education contexts.

Establishing positive classroom expectations, or norms, that reflect the shared values of a classroom community (i.e., educators, students, families) is an important step toward creating a positive teaching and learning environment. This brief provides guidance for creating and using a classroom teaching matrix to explicitly identify, define, and teach (a) predictable classroom routines, (b) positive classroom expectations, and (c) critical social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) skills.

Racial and ethnic inequities in school discipline are widespread and persistent, even in schools implementing PBIS with fidelity. Yet integrating components of a multicomponent equity-centered approach into existing tiered frameworks is showing promise for improving equity in student outcomes. This brief describes the Center on PBIS’s 5-Point Equity Approach and the evidence for its positive effects on discipline disproportionality.

Psychometric properties reflect the overall quality of behavioral screening tools. Understanding such concepts helps you select a behavioral screener that best fits your district or school context and provides accurate and valuable information for data-based decision-making. This brief describes key elements of reliable screening tools.

This brief discusses ways to design PBIS systems that are accessible to all students. It describes the importance of including all students in PBIS structures, gives practical strategies to help schools achieve this goal, and includes the story of a student who benefited from full access to his school’s PBIS system.

This brief provides district PBIS leadership teams a framework to examine school-level fidelity and self-assessment data to guide resource, professional development, and technical assistance decision making.

This brief summarizes themes from interviews with seven district- and school-level leaders who were asked to share experiences and lessons learned while implementing PBIS in their rural school(s). The results offer a starting place for discussion on what is important to consider when implementing PBIS in rural school settings. 

Disproportionality in exclusionary school discipline is a longstanding challenge in general and special education. To reduce disproportionality in discipline in a way that produces measurable results, federal law provides a mechanism referred to as Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS). Whether a school district has been cited for significant disproportionality, is out of compliance, or is voluntarily directing funds to reducing disproportionality in discipline, this brief provides background on CEIS and outlines best practices for how state, district, and building administrators can invest these funds most effectively to achieve equity in school discipline.

Removing students from the classroom and placing them in remote instruction for their behavior is an emerging form of discipline (Jones, 2020). The purpose of this brief is to describe this form of discipline, examine its implications and potential negative impacts, and provide guiding principles for improving behavior through evidence-based approaches.

Equity work has long been associated with the notion that educational outcomes will improve if practitioners provide individual support to the "right students," typically meaning students of color, students from marginalized groups, or students underserved by our social institutions. While well-intentioned, this approach is shortsighted and ignores the role of systems, including education, in outcomes. This brief explains how school teams can begin to address long-standing systemic inequities via PBIS core components to create and sustain change.

This brief provides an overview of how to identify and determine why a student may be avoiding or refusing to attend school, and ways that schoolwide positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) teams can help to assess and address school refusal. We will introduce a research-based framework to engage in problem-solving to better support students who exhibit school refusal that can supplement more detailed reviews of assessment and intervention (e.g., Kearney, 2007).

This brief describes a school’s transformation from using ineffective and punitive disciplinary practices to implementing effective and proactive responses to behavior by installing the PBIS framework in a unique setting. Specifically, this demonstration highlights the work of the PBIS school leadership team at the American School for the Deaf (ASD) and describes ASD’s use of PBIS strategies in alignment with the Six Core Strategies© to reduce their use of restraint and seclusion.

This brief describes how educators use a function-based approach to (a) prevent contextually inappropriate behaviors and (b) teach and encourage social, emotional, and behavioral skills throughout the PBIS continuum of support. In addition, this brief highlights critical features of effective functional behavioral assessment (FBA) and behavior support plans (BSP).

Using academic and behavior screening tools, educators actively look for students who might need extra help to be successful in school. This practice brief helps families understand the logic and steps taken as part of school-wide universal screening, and answers some frequently asked questions about systematic behavior screening.

Systematic screening is one proactive way educators can identify students who might need additional support, even when Tier 1 practices are being implemented with fidelity. In this brief, we offer guiding questions for installing a universal behavior screening tool in your school or district centered around five topics: setting up structures, providing professional learning, before your screening window opens, during your screening window, and after your screening window closes.

The Individualized Education Plan (IEP) document is a legal plan for special education created by a team that includes educators and family members. The IEP contains goals that promote student success, and, if needed, might include goals on ways to improve behavior. As families might find it helpful to plan ahead for IEP meetings, this brief is designed to help families prepare for an IEP meeting with tips to help strengthen the IEP team planning for any needed behavioral goals and supports.

The IEP document is a legal plan for special education which is created by a team of educators and the child's family. This team meets yearly to create an IEP that provides information about the specifically designed instruction, related services, and other supports for the child. This tip sheet shares some ideas in how families can prepare for the IEP meeting to promote full participation in their child's education program.

Are you concerned about your child’s behavior in school? This document is intended to assist families of children with disabilities that already have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) in asking questions to learn more about their child’s behavior in school. Some examples of questions families can ask their school are included and organized by the level of behavior concern, followed by a list of additional resources to consider.

Successful partnerships between schools and parents/families benefit the academic success and social-emotional development of students. The Remote Instruction Strategy Matrix for Collaboration with Families is designed for educators (e.g., teachers, administrators, school counselors) to use as they collaborate with parents or families to be used within a continuum of supports based on available technology. This allows schools to coordinate efforts that match the regularity and depth of communication and supports based on identified student needs.

This evaluation brief (a) describes methods of a systematic review of state policy and legislation on R/S, (b) summarizes how R/S is addressed in state policy and legislation, (c) discusses the extent to which policy and legislation emphasizes alternatives to R/S, and (d) based on this review, provides considerations for preventing or reducing R/S, such as organizing a continuum of evidence-based prevention practices within a positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) framework to address the use of R/S.

Given some of the barriers faced by schools, especially those in rural areas, the Working Smarter Matrix matches interventions with current PBIS resources to assist a school team in using an efficient and effective problem-solving process. As part of the problem-solving process and after PBIS teams have identified and analyzed the problem, they can use this matrix to select an appropriate intervention approach and locate corresponding, hyperlinked resources to support that approach.

This brief is designed to help inform school leaders about how intentional collaboration with diverse families can be created through environments in which educators work alongside families on behalf of the students they serve. Recommendations for action are included.

In this practice brief, we describe several current examples of approaches that are aimed at improving outcomes for students entering high school. Additionally, we present strategies to disrupt the negative trajectory for students with EBD, who seldom receive coordinated, individualized supports during the critical transition from middle to high school.

In this practice brief, we explore feedback from a group of eighth and ninth grade students, families, and educators on what has been challenging, what has been missing, and what is needed during the transition from middle to high school for students with emotional and behavioral disorders. We also discuss the process for gathering stakeholder feedback and some feasible next steps for schools and districts who are interested in utilizing such valuable input for improving their systems of support.

An increasing number of high schools have adopted Tier 1 PBIS; however, implementation of advanced tiers of PBIS in high schools is less common and specific guidance is scarce. To address this need and better understand the level of support needed to successfully implement advanced tiers of PBIS at the high school level, the National Center on PBIS is conducting a model demonstration with a cohort of four high schools. The intent of this brief is to share lessons learned related to strengths and challenges that have influenced the initial implementation of advanced tiers of support for schools and lessons learned for district leaders and trainers to consider when supporting high schools.

In this practice brief, we offer five questions for you to consider as you decide which systematic screening tool to adopt, install, and sustain. These questions are intended to support you to identify your available resources and your screening needs.

In this brief, we describe experiences of three school districts in various U.S. geographic regions as they installed screening tools as part of their screening processes. Education leaders have generously shared their advice for practitioners throughout the nation. We share five lessons learned from district leaders, including some selected quotes (see boxes). Leaders’ insights may be helpful for educators already involved in systematic screening as well as those who are newer to the process.

This brief describes why it's critical to continue to prioritize behavior support in addition to academic, social, and emotional supports. Without effective behavior support, research has documented that students and educators experience negative outcomes. With effective behavior support implemented within a PBIS framework, rigorous research has demonstrated that students and educators experience positive outcomes.

Participants in the 2017 PBIS Forum's juvenile justice strand were invited to a Roundtable discussion on issues related to PBIS implementation in juvenile justice settings. Attendees chose one of four topical small groups to share ideas about commonly-asked questions from practitioners who are considering or implementing PBIS in juvenile justice settings. Highlights of the small group discussions are presented in this Practice Brief.

The purpose of this brief is to provide guidance and concrete examples to school personnel of how schools can leverage an existing PBIS framework to support CCR efficiently and effectively.

The purpose of this brief is to provide recommendations to district and school leadership teams on how the components of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) can be used to prioritize staff health and wellbeing.

As school and district communities consider options for effectively supporting students, educators, and families during and after a crisis, it can be difficult to identify critical impactful actions. The PBIS framework can serve as a road map to meeting this challenge. This practice brief provides strategies to guide implementation efforts through the various phase of crisis recovery for schools and districts that are (a) getting started or (b) strengthening and maintaining current implementation. 

The National Center for School Mental Health provides practitioners a summary of PBIS, the Interconnected Systems Framework (ISF), and Comprehensive School Mental Health Systems (CSMHS) tools and resources that districts and schools might use to improve their efforts to support the social-emotional-behavioral health and wellness of every student. The guidance includes consideration for use of high-quality resources, what the frameworks have in common, and how to add value in their use to enhance existing efforts.

The aim of this practice brief is to highlight the broader issue of domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST) and suggest a framework for integrating school-based prevention and intervention strategies through Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). We provide a brief review of DMST and connections to PBIS; we then discuss how actions within the PBIS framework may help prevent DMST and provide assistance to student victims and their families. 

Effective instruction can be a protective factor for student wellness, mitigating competing risk factors. In this brief, we highlight key considerations and resources for educators to (a) create an effective context for learning, (b) emphasize appropriate content, and (c) use data-driven instructional practices to increase the likelihood that all students experience academic, social, emotional, and behavioral benefit.

This guide is intended to support school teams, coaches, and trainers working to focus on cultural responsiveness and support for mental health and wellness within the PBIS framework while also navigating the ongoing challenges of the 2020-2021 school year. This companion guide is not an additional fidelity of implementation measure. It is an action planning tool to use alongside the validated TFI to focus PBIS implementation to better meet the complex needs of students and staff.

This brief adapts the suggestions and strategies provided in Improving Attendance and Reducing Chronic Absenteeism to guide practice during remote instruction. Latest revision includes a case study that illustrates the guidance.

This practice brief describes how we (a) develop habits of effective classroom practice and (b) expand effective habits in our schools, districts, and states.

With the new range of instructional contexts being offered, many educators are seeking guidance regarding how to conduct systematic screenings for behavior across these different environments. In this brief, we offer three considerations for those preparing to screen for the first time and for those continuing with screening within a tiered system for in-person, remote, or hybrid instructional environments.

Rural education settings often have accessibility strengths and weaknesses that can make virtual instruction challenging. A range of resources are needed that can be tailored in intensity to meet various student needs (social, emotional, behavioral well-being, academic engagement) adapted to different types of technology. The Remote Instruction Strategy Matrix with corresponding resources provides educators with a continuum of learning support strategies that can be followed by adaptations for implementation based on available technology. 

Building district capacity for implementing PBIS in high need school districts is challenging. This practice brief summarizes the lessons learned one year into an intensive 5-year partnership with Southbridge Public Schools, a district identified as high-need. The intent of the brief is to provide district leaders, trainers, and state leaders with lessons learned and suggestions they may consider when supporting high need LEAs.

This practice brief describes information and tips for families regarding accessibility during remote learning.

This practice brief shares tips for maintaining continuity of learning through defining classroom expectations for remote (i.e., distance) instruction and online learning environments. With a few adaptations, teachers can use a PBIS framework to make remote learning safe, predictable, and positive.

This practice brief shares tips for maintaining continuity of learning through defining classroom expectations for remote (i.e., distance) instruction and online learning environments. With a few adaptations, teachers can use a PBIS framework to make remote learning safe, predictable, and positive.

Evidence-based frameworks, such as positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS), provide a critical foundation to meet the needs of students, families, and educators in this new context, but only when implemented with fidelity. This practice brief (a) provides a rationale for conducting the Tiered Fidelity Inventory (TFI)l; (b) shares guidance on how to complete the TFI, including the walkthrough, remotely; and (b) responds to frequently asked questions related to conducting the TFI remotely.

Students with disabilities are more likely to experience exclusionary and reactive discipline practices than students without disabilities. Fortunately, when educators implement positive, proactive, and evidence-based practices within a Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) framework, students with disabilities benefit. In this practice brief, we describe the “top ten” intervention strategies effective educators implement to support all students, including students with disabilities, in their classroom.

This practice brief focuses on effective ways to build an acknowledgement system that works in high school. We start by suggesting why considering a formal acknowledgment system is appropriate in high school, and then review examples of strategies that have been demonstrated (descriptively or empirically) to be effective.

Young students new to school experience a shift in their typical environment. This practice brief provides strategies for how school teams can increase behavior support at the beginning of the school year to support these students.

This brief provides considerations and suggestions for adapting Check-in Check-out (CICO), an evidence-based Tier 2 school intervention, for situations where students are learning from home.

This Practice Brief was developed as result of the roundtable dialogue that occurred at the 2019 PBIS Leadership Forum in Chicago, IL and is intended to be a practical tool and resource for anyone who is leading or supporting PBIS in juvenile justice programs or other types of alternative, residential programs. Common reasons that can prevent sustainability of PBIS over time and recommendations for enhancing sustainability will be described.

This Practice Brief was developed as result of the roundtable dialogue that occurred at the 2019 PBIS Leadership Forum in Chicago, IL for the purpose of exploring how all classes on school campuses can meet the developmental needs of students, specifically our youngest students.

This Practice Brief was developed as result of the roundtable dialogue that occurred at the 2019 PBIS Leadership Forum in Chicago, IL and is not intended to provide comprehensive legal guidance. Districts/schools should consult with their district’s legal resources for deciding on legal actions and procedures.

This Practice Brief was developed as result of the roundtable dialogue that occurred at the 2019 PBIS Leadership Forum in Chicago, IL.

This Practice Brief was developed as result of the roundtable dialogue that occurred at the 2019 PBIS Leadership Forum in Chicago, IL with the purpose to describe the Family-School-Community Alliance (FSCA) and the FSCA’s recent work focused on family-school collaboration in Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). An introduction to the FSCA is provided, followed by the rationale and current challenges of family- school collaboration. Finally, the features of the FSCA’s model for family-school collaboration are reviewed along with suggestions for integrating and aligning family-school collaboration efforts within existing practice.

Families and caregivers should consider using positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) in their homes on a daily basis. It is especially helpful when events disrupt normal routines – events like worldwide health pandemics. This practice brief provides recommendations for families and caregivers on how to use PBIS to continue to support their students’ social and emotional growth and minimize behavioral disruptions in the home.

Families and caregivers should consider using positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) in their homes on a daily basis. It is especially helpful when events disrupt normal routines – events like worldwide health pandemics. This practice brief provides recommendations for families and caregivers on how to use PBIS to continue to support their students’ social and emotional growth and minimize behavioral disruptions in the home.

Positive greetings at the door is an effective strategy for increasing academic engagement, decreasing unwanted behavior, and improving student-teacher relationships. This strategy brief breaks it down into easy steps for daily implementation.

This practice brief is intended to be a practical tool and brief overview resource for educators interested in leveraging the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) framework to support school and district-level prevention and recovery efforts related to school violence and other trauma-inducing critical incidents.

Clip charts have been a common classroom strategy for many years. Once considered an effective tool for displaying behavioral progress and adherence to classroom rules, they may not be as helpful as once thought. In this practice brief, we describe how such strategies are inconsistent with a PBIS approach and, more importantly, can be harmful. We also provide alternative strategies that are evidence based and more likely to improve student behavior while promoting a safe, positive classroom.

In October 2017, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared a public health emergency to address rising overdose deaths related to the opioid epidemic. With the effects of the opioid crisis affecting students at multiple levels, it is important to identify clear targets for school-based interventions. We describe here the ways students and families may be affected, and how school teams can leverage the PBIS framework to support them.

This brief provides guidance for schools or districts looking to integrate strategies for improving attendance within the PBIS framework.

As states and districts adopt policies that address the “whole child,” many look to multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) that attend to academic and social-emotional-behavioral needs of students. Key features of MTSS include a continuum of supports with increasing intensity matched to student need, the use of research informed practices, and data for decision making. School-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) is an example of an effective MTSS for behavior.

In this Practice Brief we propose that there are at least four core types of data needed by high school PBIS Leadership Teams and that these data can be used to problem-solve at the (a) whole school, (b) at-risk group, or (c) individual student levels.

This brief discusses the importance of student voice, describes the unique features of high school settings that can make it challenging to include students, and offers strategies to address these barriers.

Buy-in from stakeholders is important for the successful adoption, full implementation and sustainability of any school-based initiative. It’s also one of the critical elements for implementation of Tier 1 PBIS included in the TFI, BoQ, and the Blueprint. This brief describes the unique features of high school settings that can make building buy-in more difficult and identifies strategies that have been successful for securing staff buy-in in high schools.

The purpose of this practice brief is to describe family-school collaboration in Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and review approaches that help to create conditions that promote collaboration. A brief background on family-school collaboration is provided, followed by guidance on a schoolwide approach for collaborating with families that strengthens family-school connections and improves student performance.

The 2018 PBIS Leadership Forum juvenile justice roundtable dialogue gave a voice to the conference participants who work with youth in restrictive settings. This is a summary of their ideas to spur additional conversations and to continue the growth of FW-PBIS with this population of vulnerable and marginalized youth in restrictive settings.

The significance of the student-teacher relationship is substantial. The brief discusses key elements of positive student-teacher relationships and approaches for strengthening teachers' relational skills with students.

This brief was developed to provide core features and strategies for integrating academic and behavior practices to support students in a “whole child” approach at the classroom level.

The results of decades of research consistently show that students of color, particularly African American students (and even more so for African American boys and those with disabilities), are at significantly increased risk for receiving exclusionary discipline practices, including office discipline referrals and suspensions. We describe here a 5-point multicomponent approach to reduce disproportionality in schools.

The purpose of this technical brief is to summarize proactive, efficient, and evidence-based systems for supporting teachers’ implementation of positive classroom behavior support (PCBS) practices school-wide. Specifically, this technical brief is designed to inform and support school and district leadership teams as they address the following questions while implementing PCBS school wide.

The purpose of this document is to summarize the Mental Health Integration strand, including the roundtable dialogue, from the 2017 PBIS Leadership Forum in Chicago, Illinois. Recognizing that the ISF provides an example of effective alignment of initiatives, programs and practices in schools, this summary will be organized around the steps included in the Technical Guide for Alignment (see Figure 1 below). Illustrations from sites working to implement the ISF are included as examples of the alignment process. Input and discussion from presenters and participants at the 2017 PBIS Leadership Forum Mental Health Integration sessions and roundtable dialogue, including responses to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), are included in this Brief.

An operational and applied overview of school climate that can guide decisions related to policy, professional development, and practice and systems implementation at the classroom, school, district, and state levels.

Coaching is important and necessary to maximize transfer and translation of skills and practices acquired during training into sustainable and high fidelity implementation of evidence-based practices and systems. Coaching has been identified as the most critical factor in successful implementation. This brief quickly defines coaching at the district level. It includes a graphic representation of how the role fits within a district structure and outlines the functions a district coach is expected to conduct.

This document is intended to be a practical tool and resource for educators interested in implementing, sustaining, or enhancing PBIS in the classroom practices. (RDQ)

For the purpose of this brief, clinicians are considered school social workers, school psychologists, school counselors, guidance deans and community mental health clinicians based in the school setting. These clinicians play an integral role in helping build, support, and sustain a MTSS framework in schools and districts. (RDQ)

This technical brief is based on the 5-point multicomponent approach to reduce disproportionality. This brief elaborates on point one, regarding academic instruction, by defining key principles of evidence-based instructional practices.

The purpose of this brief is to help build a common language and a common understanding of the critical role Coaching plays in ensuring the EBP/EIIs can be implemented as intended (fidelity) and sustain over time.

In this practice brief, we share highlights from the 2022 PBIS Leadership Forum facilitated discussion: Systematic Screening: Practicalities & Considerations. Specifically, we describe what is meant by “systematic screening,” explain the importance of systematic screening, provide information on resources to get started with systematic screening efforts, and summarize some questions addressed during the discussion.