The Positive Behavior Intervention & Support (PBIS) Framework

What?
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) is the application of positive interventions and system changes to achieve socially important behavior change. PBIS is a framework to:

• Identify student/school needs
• Develop strategies for success
• Evaluate success through data collection 

3 Major Components of PBIS:

• Teaching appropriate behavior in all settings
• Interventions when behavior expectations are not met
• Recognition when behaviors are met

We have been implementing PBIS in our schools for over a decade. Each school has positively stated expectations, signage, and lessons to teach the expectations. The PBIS framework at schools contains a plan to support students within all three tiers of the intervention triangle.

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 2: Targeted, Secondary Prevention (Some)
Students receiving Tier 2 supports get an added layer of systems, data, and practices targeting their specific needs. On average, about 10-15% of 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 3: Intensive and Individualized, Tertiary Prevention (Few)
There are a small number (1-5%) of students for whom Tier 1 and Tier 2 supports have not
been sufficient to experience success. At Tier 3, students receive more intensive, individualized support to improve their outcomes. Tier 3 supports are available to any student with intensive need.

The goals of PBIS are to increase academic performance, increase safety, decrease problem behaviors, develop positive school culture, teach students appropriate behavior, and give them the support to sustain that behavior.

How?
Each school has a team led by a team lead and an administrator. Representatives from the school teams, along with district staff meet regularly to share best practices, research, and data collection tools for further implementation of PBIS at school sites.