Educational Leader Resources and Guidance

Positive Behavioral INTERVENTION & Support (PBIS)

What is PBIS?

What are the guiding principles of PBIS?

What does PBIS look like in a school?

How is PBIS different from traditional discipline?

Sample PBIS Tier 1 Handbooks and Reinforcers

Sample PBIS and Discipline Matrices and Referrals

Sample PBIS Resources for Introducing PBIS to Staff and Students and Implementation Planning

Lessons for SOAR

Data Collection Resources

What is PBIS?

PBIS is a comprehensive and preventative approach to discipline. The main goal of PBIS is to decrease unwanted student behavior in schools and classrooms and to develop integrated networks that support students and adults at the school, classroom, family, and individual student levels. Under PBIS, serious behavior problems and overall school climate improves because faculty and staff actively teach positive behavior, through modeling expected behavior and rewarding positive behaviors, such as academic achievement, following adult requests, and engaging in safe behavior.

The overarching and continuous goal of PBIS is to establish a positive school and classroom climate, in which expectations for students are predictable, directly taught, consistently acknowledged and actively monitored.

What are the guiding principles of PBIS?

Students can learn behavioral expectations for different situations.
Students learn expected behaviors for each school setting through explicit instruction and opportunities to practice and receive feedback.
Stepping in early can prevent more serious behavior problems.
Each student is different, so schools need to give many kinds of behavior support.
How schools teach behavior should be based on research and science.
Schools gather and use data to make decisions about behavior interventions.
School staff members are consistent in how they encourage expected behavior and discourage infractions.

What does PBIS look like in a school?

PBIS emphasizes uniform and continuous instruction for all students concerning desired and expected social behaviors.

All classrooms in PBIS schools have the same set of common classroom-level rules and positive reinforcement systems that are consistent with the school-wide plan
Behavioral problems that are handled in the classroom versus those that are handled by administrators with higher-level interventions are clearly defined
Data on patterns of problem behavior are regularly summarized, presented, and discussed at faculty meetings and new strategies utilized

As California deepens the implementation of the Common Core state standards, one key aspect of support for all students will be to address behavioral needs. Each team member has a unique role within the RtI model to support students in developing the requisite skills, knowledge, and ability to be prepared for college and career. It is essential to a highly effective instructional program to ensure a balance between academic and behavioral systems, focusing on both sides of the RtI pyramid.

How is PBIS different from traditional discipline?

In a school that uses traditional discipline, teachers may try to correct behavior through punishment. A school that uses PBIS handles this differently. With PBIS, the school looks at behavior as a form of communication. If a student acts out and breaks a school rule, a staff member would create a strategy to prevent the behavior from happening again. The strategy might include a break time to cool off and time reteaching the expectation to the student. Schools can track the student’s progress and manage behavior issues or change the strategy if something’s not working.