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…

This article provides an overview of how reinforcement serves as the foundation for a function-based approach to support students with challenging behavior. Understanding reinforcement is essential when providing function-based support for students with challenging behavior. Reinforcement "strengthens" behavior, increasing the…

The most common behaviors eliciting a student referral for special education evaluation related to emotional disturbance (ED) are adult- and peer-targeted aggression. Curiously, the word aggression, which is an externalizing behavior, does not appear anywhere in the federal description of ED. Despite the lack of clarity surrounding definitions, as…

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…

Early childhood education teachers often feel underprepared for addressing behavior challenges in the classroom. This can limit a teacher's ability to teach academic and social skills and lead to interruptions in their educational experience such as suspensions or expulsions. Effective planning can help teachers create and manage positive learning…

The U.S. Department of Education (Department) is committed to supporting State educational agencies (SEAs), local educational agencies (LEAs), and partners in ensuring that schools and preschool programs have additional tools to foster safe, inclusive learning environments that increase students' engagement and sense of well-being. The Office of…

In considering classroom management strategies, understanding the environmental factors related to available reinforcement and their effect on student behavior is crucial. When teachers or school staff have access to information related to student behavior function, it can be used to design and implement more effective behavioral intervention…

Challenging student behavior remains one of the biggest trials for classroom teachers. Understanding why a student performs a specific behavior is important in determining how to develop an intervention that targets the function of the behavior. This column focuses on how thinking functionally about behavior can help teachers understand why…

Secondary students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) can often demonstrate skill deficits and problem behaviors in general education classes. Teachers generally understand how to implement intensive interventions, yet may not know how to address skill deficits and off-task behaviors using a function-based approach or may encounter barriers…

Over the past several decades, public schools across the United States have experienced an increasingly visible diversity rift between student enrollment and teaching faculty. The number of students from diverse backgrounds continues to grow while educator ranks continue to become more homogeneous. This diversity rift presents several challenges…

New--and often veteran--teachers find managing significant inappropriate student behavior a formidable challenge. Although more severe inappropriate behaviors, such as aggression, often receive attention in the professional literature, survey research has shown that the high frequency of milder inappropriate behaviors (e.g., disruptions,…

The only consistency with children, with and without disabilities, is that they are inconsistent. Much of a child's behavior is adult controlled by their reaction, methods used, and consistency in support and discipline. When adults change the way they respond to the child's behaviors, the child gradually will learn to modify their behavior.…

Managing problematic classroom behavior is a challenge for many teachers, regardless of population. The website, www.basicfba.com, designed by researchers at Portland State University, offers teachers and practitioners a wealth of materials to assist them in conducting and maintaining a functional behavior assessment and behavior support plan.…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the federal law that secures special education services for children with disabilities from the time they are born until they graduate from high school. The law was reauthorized by Congress in 2004, prompting a series of changes in the way special education services are implemented. These…

When a child doesn't respond to initial attempts to improve behavior, the first response is to try again. When that still doesn't work, teachers might do something else, and keep trying until they run through an entire repertoire of ideas. When they still don't get what they want, teachers begin to think: "What's wrong with this child?"…