Restraint and seclusion (R/S) are practices employed by schools to address severe student behavior. Although the use of R/S has been shown to have harmful impact for students, staff, and schools, there is no federal law that addresses its use in schools. A lack of a universal approach leaves each state to determine its own legislation and policy.…

Disruptive behavior disorders in childhood are increasingly pervasive and associated with numerous, negative long-term outcomes. The current study examined whether adding a brief, home-visitation intervention to an existing, multi-component (child and teacher) intervention, would improve social-emotional and behavioral outcomes for young children…

Disruptive behavior problems frequently emerge in the preschool years and are associated with numerous, long-term negative outcomes, including comorbid disorders. First Step is a psychosocial early intervention with substantial empirical evidence supporting its efficacy among young children. The present study reports on a validation study of the…

Functional communication training (FCT) is a commonly used, often recommended intervention that involves teaching a functionally equivalent communicative response to replace challenging behavior. The purpose of this literature review was to evaluate the strength of the evidence for the use of FCT. A systematic review of the literature resulted in…

Classroom pivotal response teaching (CPRT) is an evidence-based practice (EBP) adapted for classroom use. A recent effectiveness trial of CPRT involved training 98 special education classrooms in Southern California. The Exploration, Planning, Implementation, and Sustainment (EPIS) conceptual framework illustrates the impact of inner- and…

Effectively managing a classroom is crucial in promoting positive student outcomes. Behavior-specific praise is an empirically supported strategy to reinforce desirable student behaviors. Following a review of the literature, we identified tactile prompting and self-monitoring as effective methods to increase teachers' use of behavior-specific…

The daily report card (DRC) is a commonly employed behavioral intervention for treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in schools. Much of the support for the DRC comes from single-case studies, which have traditionally received less attention than group studies. This lack of attention to single-case studies results in an…

The purpose of this study was to identify factors associated with sustainability of school-based interventions and the relative contributions of those factors to predicting sustained implementation of Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS). Participants were respondents from 217 schools across 14 U.S. states. Sustainability factors were…

In this article, we describe and evaluate the extent to which recent changes to state-level policy are related to seclusion and restraint in schools and detail what components of comprehensive restraint and seclusion policy are indicated. We examined state policy documents and coded them for the presence of specific characteristics related to…

This article examines a critical question for the special education community: What should be the current meaning of "free appropriate public education" (FAPE) in light of not only the Supreme Court's landmark "Rowley" decision in 1982 but also developments in the 30 years since then? After synthesizing what the…

Self-management interventions aimed at skill acquisition and/or improving behavior of students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders were examined. Twenty-three single-subject research design studies met inclusion criteria. Quality assessment of these studies was conducted using the What Works Clearinghouse guidelines, and treatment effect…

A summary of the available literature on sustainability is provided and recommended sustainability features are applied to implementation of schoolwide positive behavior interventions and supports (SWPBIS). One hundred and seventeen schools from 6 states completed the sustainability survey, which determined the presence of 8 sustainability…

In this study, the researchers evaluated the sensitivity of Direct Behavior Rating Single-Item Scales (DBR-SIS) for assessing behavior change in response to an intervention. Included in the analyses were data from 20 completed behavioral consultation cases involving a diverse sample of elementary participants and contexts using a common…

This article addresses the effects of 3-tiered comprehensive reading and behavior interventions on K-3 student outcomes in 7 urban elementary schools with a high prevalence of students considered difficult to teach. Specific features of each level of the implementation are described including screening and tier placement procedures, scheduling and…

This article examined the efficacy of a primary-level, standard-protocol behavior intervention for students with externalizing behavioral disorders. Elementary schools were randomly assigned to treatment (behavior intervention) or control (business as usual) conditions, and K-3 students were screened for externalizing behavior risk status. The…