The negative outcomes of exclusionary discipline practices on children and youth are well established. Fortunately, for the past two decades, research has demonstrated that pro-active instructional approaches and building supportive class and school environments can effectively promote student social, emotional, and behavioral well-being,…

Teachers and clinicians report feeling underprepared to implement evidence-based behavior supports. As such, effective models of professional development that lead to improved outcomes for all individuals are required. Critical components of high-quality professional development include explicit instruction, modeling, practice, direct feedback,…

School-wide positive behavior interventions and supports (SWPBIS) is widely implemented across the United States. Evidence suggests that SWPBIS, when implemented with fidelity, has a significant and positive impact on schools, including lower suspensions and higher reading and mathematics achievement. A critical component of this research is…

School-wide positive behavior interventions and supports (SWPBIS) is a tiered framework that supports the academic, social, and behavioral needs of students. In this study, we conducted a conceptual replication of Grasley-Boy et al. (2022a) and used a series of two-level linear multilevel analyses to examine the impact of SWPBIS fidelity on 10…

Middle school students with social and behavioral concerns need additional support. The current study investigated the effects of Class-Wide Function-related intervention teams adapted for middle school contexts (CW-FIT MS) and self-management (SM) in a sixth-grade reading class. CW-FIT MS was implemented, subsequently, for students with data…

There is a dearth of research examining school and district factors associated with the abandonment of evidence-based practice in schools. In this mixed methods study, we surveyed 23 school personnel working with 30 schools that abandoned and then readopted school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS). Our aims were to…

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is an evidence-based framework for promoting positive school climates and improving student social and behavioral outcomes. Yet secondary schools have lagged behind elementary schools in their adoption and implementation of PBIS. The transition from elementary to middle school is marked by a…

One core feature of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) is a systems-level teaming process for coordinating staff implementation of evidence-based practices and monitoring student progress across all three tiers. Prior research has shown schools that report regular teaming and team-based data use are more likely to successfully…

Within the context of a multi-tiered framework for behavior support, intervention intensification is warranted when a Tier II intervention fails to adequately address a targeted behavior. A traditional approach to intensification is to shift from standardized supports at Tier II to individualized and more resource-intensive supports at Tier III.…

Class-wide Function-related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT) is a classroom management intervention in which teachers incorporate positive behavior support (PBS) principles by teaching specific classroom expectations and providing feedback on student behavior as part of an interdependent group contingency. Interventions like CW-FIT may be helpful for…

Coaching is an important component in multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) such as school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS), but little is known about which coaching activities are most related to sustained implementation of this school-wide framework. A survey was developed to examine the amount of receipt and…

Classroom management is commonly challenging in middle schools. Class-wide function-related intervention teams (CW-FIT) is a multitiered intervention designed to decrease problem behaviors at the classroom level. It is comprises evidence-based practices such as teaching classroom expectations, increasing teacher praise, and using positive…

Check-in/check-out (CICO) is an evidence-based multicomponent intervention widely implemented in elementary and middle schools. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether an adapted CICO intervention, with CICO components designed to be more developmentally appropriate for adolescents and contextually relevant for high schools, could be…

An emerging body of research shows Tier 1 Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) can be successfully implemented in high schools to improve school climate and graduation rates and reduce problem behaviors. However, high schools are often hesitant to adopt PBIS because of contextual barriers such as school size, organizational…

In U.S. schools, Black and Latinx youth receive disciplinary action at rates greater than their White peers. In the context of systemic racism in the United States, proposed systemic solutions such as school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS) should be evaluated for their effectiveness in producing more equitable school…