An Educator's Guide to Schoolwide Positive Behavioral Inteventions and Supports. Jason E. Harlacher
instructional and behavioral principles to teach a handful of schoolwide behavioral expectations (for example, be safe, be respectful, be responsible). This foundational level serves a preventative function to mitigate problematic behavior, and at least 80 percent of the students’ needs are met with universal instruction alone (George, Kincaid, & Pollard-Sage, 2009; Horner, Sugai, et al., 2005). A range of increasingly intensive and evidence-based supports are available for students who need more direct support for behavioral concerns, which allows school teams to match each student’s needs with a corresponding level of support and intervention. An additional 10 to 15 percent of students require supplemental, targeted support called Tier Two (also referred to as targeted support), and 3 to 5 percent require intensive, individualized support called Tier Three (also referred to as indicated support; Sugai & Horner, 2009). As illustrated in figure 1.1, SWPBIS creates a healthy, functioning school in which all students’ needs are met. It is important to understand that figure 1.1 represents a healthy system and is the ideal outcome of implementing SWPBIS. Some schools may serve populations in which most students may initially appear to need Tier Two or Tier Three supports; however, once the foundational systems and supports are in place, such schools can achieve outcomes that represent a healthy system (that is, at least 80 percent of students’ needs are met with Tier One alone, no more than 10 to 15 percent require Tier Two, and no more than 5 percent require Tier Three; Bohanon et al., 2006; Netzel & Eber, 2003). Whereas some schools may find that that 40 percent of their students are at risk for academic or behavioral failure, over time, SWPBIS will likely decrease the number of students who are at risk (Greenwood, Kratochwill, & Clements, 2008). See table 1.1 for a summary of SWPBIS.
Source: Harlacher, Sakelaris, & Kattelman, 2014.
Figure 1.1: SWPBIS framework.
SWPBIS is a responsive, efficient system of supports in which the intensity of support and services increases as students receive supports that are higher up in the triangle. To ensure their needs are met, teachers screen all students at least two to three times per year to identify those who may be at risk for behavioral difficulties (students already identified at risk are monitored with similar tools). Teachers provide students with support, and their progress is regularly monitored to ensure that support is effective (Horner, Sugai, Todd, & Lewis-Palmer, 2005; Sailor et al., 2009). Every teacher proactively assesses students’ needs, provides instruction, and then monitors its impact on every student; the entire school uses this approach. Such processes create a fluid system that emphasizes evidence-based practices and data for decision making (Horner, Sugai, et al., 2005; Sailor et al., 2009). Consequently, SWPBIS is a continuous-improvement system. It requires school teams to regularly examine both the impact and the implementation of individual interventions and the system itself (Newton, Horner, Algozzine, Todd, & Algozzine, 2009).
Table 1.1: SWPBIS Summary
| Instruction | Group Size | Frequency and Duration |
| Tier One | ||
| Three to five positively stated expectations; teaching and reinforcement of those expectations; consistent procedures for responding to misbehavior | Whole school, taught in various formats (for example, at an assembly, in classroom, and so on) | Initial teaching; reteaching and recognition provided throughout school year; instructional boosters provided as needed, based on data |
| Tier Two | ||
| Targeted group, interventions to supplement Tier One with goal of displaying schoolwide expectations with increased instruction in explicit skills, increased oppor tunities to practice and receive feedback | Small group or 1:1 Designed to reach groups of students but not always delivered in a group setting | Occurs daily or weekly, depending on intervention Duration determined by student’s progress, but typically no longer than twenty weeks |
| Tier Three | ||
| Intensive instruction that includes small-group, 1:1, and wraparound services Individually designed | 1:1 or small group, depending on intervention | Varies by student, but usually daily occurrence Longer duration relative to Tier Two |
Source: Adapted from Harlacher et al., 2014.
However, SWPBIS is about more than just teaching behavioral expectations to students; SWPBIS focuses on creating supportive environments (Sugai & Horner, 2009). The most obvious way school teams do this is through its facilitation of social competence by directly teaching behavioral expectations and prosocial skills (Sugai & Horner, 2009). For example, school teams teach students the schoolwide expectations (such as be respectful and be safe), and they may also receive instruction on related prosocial skills (such as having empathy and working cooperatively). Additionally, the school team sets up an environment where students are more likely to succeed and to engage in prosocial behaviors (and learning) rather than problematic behaviors. The language adults use is geared toward the expectations (for example, “When we listen to others, that’s a way of being respectful”), structures can change in the environment (such as adjusted schedules or a modified layout of a common area), and the ratio of feedback for appropriate behavior to redirects for misbehavior increases as students are acknowledged often for displaying prosocial behavior. This differs starkly from approaches that focus on within-child problems, where the focus is only on students and adjusting their behaviors. Because of its focus on prosocial skills and the setting in which those skills occur, SWPBIS impacts the school’s overall climate, culture, and safety. In turn, students experience more positive social outcomes, develop lifelong skills, and face improved academic learning opportunities (McKevitt & Braaksma, 2008; Sugai & Horner, 2009).
“PBIS is the foundation for our school community; not only does it bring students and staff together; but it also incorporates families. Using PBIS helps us to consistently see students actively engaged in all aspects of their school day. When students are aware of the expectations set for them, they consistently rise to meet them. This system helped us create an uplifting environment in school where students and teachers alike feel successful.”
—Nikki Matthews, fourth-grade education teacher, Walterville Elementary School, Springfield, Oregon
(personal communication, May 13, 2016)
Next, we will delve into the research base for SWPBIS, its theoretical background, its four key elements, and the Problem-Solving Model.
Research Base for SWPBIS
To date, over twenty-one thousand schools in the United States use SWPBIS (National Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports [NTACP-BIS], n.d.). Behind SWPBIS is a long history of effective results. In fact, Robert Horner, George Sugai, and Timothy Lewis (2015) provided a list of over one hundred references that have explored the effects of SWPBIS, including evaluation studies and randomized controlled studies. We summarize some of the results here.
The implementation of SWPBIS is associated with decreases in office discipline referrals and instances of problem behavior (Algozzine et al., 2008; Algozzine, Wang, et al., 2012; Bradshaw, Mitchell, & Leaf, 2010; Curtis, Van Horne, Robertson, & Karvonen, 2010; Horner et al., 2009; Muscott, Mann, & LeBrun, 2008), decreases in both in-school and out-of-school suspensions (Bradshaw