PBIS or Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, is being embraced by schools across the nation in response to the recently passed No Child Left Behind Act, which requires states to use scientifically based research in education. However, PBIS
has been around for years. In the amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) which passed in 1997, schools were required to consider use of PBIS for children with disabilities whose behavior impedes their learning or the learning of others.
A General Accounting Office (GAO) report on the implementation of IDEA, indicated that students with disabilities are, for the most part, receiving the same punishments as general education students. The study found 65% of students who engage in serious misconduct are suspended, regardless of their education placement, and students with disabilities tended to get into trouble more often.
This demonstrates a serious lacking on the part of our nation’s schools to provide positive behavioral supports. Schools still use discipline strategies that are ineffective including: punishment and exclusion. Effective, proactive approaches include: pro-social skills training, academic/curricular restructuring and positive behavioral interventions.

What is PBIS?

PBIS is a proactive systems approach to preventing and responding to classroom and school discipline problems. This process focuses on improving schools’ positive behavior expectations for all students, not solely the children with behavioral and emotional challenges. Emphasis is directed toward developing and maintaining safe learning environments where teachers can teach and students can learn.
PBIS uses a team-based approach that includes everyone from the students, teachers, aids, bus drivers, and lunch monitors, to the school administrators and parents in the development of preventive strategies and problem solving behavioral interventions.
PBIS is a three-tiered model of prevention and intervention. The first tier, Primary Prevention, targets 80-90% of the students who are without serious problem behaviors. The second tier, Targeted Level, addresses the needs of students who are at-risk for problem behavior and includes 5-15% of the school population. Finally, the Intensive Level addresses 1-7% of students with chronic/intensive behavior problems which require specialized individual, strength-based interventions created by wrap-around teams. At each level PBIS requires development of systems, the use of data for decision-making, and the sustained implementation of research-based practices.

Bringing PBIS to NYS

New York State is taking the lead in this exciting project by integrating families
in the implementation of PBIS at every level. Families Together is partnering with the NYS Education Department (SED), the NYS Office of Mental (OMH), the NYS department of Health (DOH) and Children’s School Health Network (CSHN) to bring PBIS into our schools. With a grant from SED and OMH, Families Together has hired six School Focused Parent Advisors (one for each region) to partner with School Mental Health Specialists based in BOCES offices across the state. Families Together participates in the Central Coordinating Group which oversees the project.
Families Together is sending its staff to extensive training to prepare them to act as coaches for current and future PBIS projects.

Developing Full Family Collaboration

There is a difference between family involvement and family collaboration. The latter views family members as equal partners, which is essential for systems change. The new School Focused Parent Advisors are serving as a resource for school teams in their region and are now beginning to assist with recruitment and training of parent participants on school district PBIS teams. For parents to be full participants, they must be compensated for their time as are the professionals who serve on the PBIS teams. We at Families Together hope to eventually find funding for parent representatives to become equal partners on every PBIS school team.
While PBIS naturally embraces parents in the development of interventions, no other state has integrated family members as professional advocates at every level of PBIS training.

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