Tier 2 Behavior: Targeted Support Based on Identified Need 

Tier 2 behavior supports provide targeted, supplemental instruction and support for students who need more than universal Tier 1 practices alone.

Students receiving Tier 2 behavior support continue to experience strong Tier 1 expectations, relationships, routines, instruction, acknowledgment, and responses while receiving additional support matched to the reason the behavior is occurring and the skill or need identified.

  Keep doing your tier 1 Behavioral Strategies!

🔎 Behavior Gives Us Information

Behavior tells us something—but it does not tell us everything.

Before selecting a Tier 2 support, teams should work to understand what is happening, when and where it occurs, what happens before and after, what the student may be communicating or accessing through the behavior, and what skills or supports may be needed.

Don't match an intervention to a behavior. Match support to the need behind the behavior.

Look Beyond the Behavior

Instead of asking only: “How do we stop this behavior?” Also ask: “What is this behavior telling us?”

Examples:

Student refuses work
→ Skill gap? Task difficulty? Fear of failure? Need for choice? Regulation? Avoidance?

Student frequently leaves their seat
→ Movement need? Attention? Task avoidance? Unclear expectations? Regulation?

Student argues with adults
→ Communication skills? Relationship/trust? Need for autonomy? Escalation pattern? Unclear or inconsistent expectations?

Student shuts down
→ Overwhelm? Academic difficulty? Anxiety/stress? Relationship or belonging? Communication/help-seeking?

The same behavior can serve different purposes for different students. That's why the same intervention will not work for every student displaying the same behavior.

🎯 Match the Support to the Need

NEED → GOAL → SUPPORT → MEASURE

🔎 IDENTIFY THE NEED
What skill, barrier, pattern, or function needs to be addressed?

🎯 DEFINE THE GOAL
What observable behavior or skill do we want to increase?

🧩 MATCH THE SUPPORT
What targeted instruction, environmental adjustment, relationship support, reinforcement, or intervention addresses the need?

📈 CHOOSE THE MEASURE
How will we know whether the support is helping?

Example:
Need: Student leaves difficult independent work to avoid tasks they believe they cannot complete
→ Goal: Student will appropriately request assistance or a brief break when work feels difficult
→ Support: Explicitly teach and practice help-seeking + structured check-in before independent work
→ Measure: Frequency of appropriate help requests compared with leaving the task

Responding to Behavior

A response to behavior is not necessarily an intervention.

Consequences, restorative responses, and alternatives to exclusion may be part of how schools respond to behavior. Tier 2 intervention, however, should intentionally address the skill, need, pattern, or function contributing to the behavior.

Intervention Bank

🤝 Connection & Adult Support

2x10 • Check & Connect • Mentoring • CICO • Lunch Bunch • Peer Mentoring

🧠 Regulation & Coping

Structured Breaks • Coping Skills • Relaxation Strategies • Sensory Supports • Self-Monitoring

🗣️ Communication & Social Skills

Conflict Resolution • Relationship Skills • Social Skills • Social Stories • Nonverbal Cues • Positive Peer Supports

🎯 Engagement, Motivation & Reinforcement

CICO • Reinforcement Systems • Preference/Reinforcement Surveys • Rapid Positive Reinforcement • The Praise Game • Daily Progress/Behavior Feedback

📚 Skill, Routine & Task Support

Organizational Skills • Individual/Visual Schedules • Peer Tutoring • Behavior Rehearsal • Structured Recess

🔍 Individualized Problem-Solving

FBA • BIP • Individualized behavior planning

These are not interchangeable interventions. An FBA, for example, is an assessment process used to better understand behavior and inform intervention planning—not simply another strategy to select from a menu.

🗣️ Include the Student in Understanding the Behavior

Behavioral data can show us what is happening—but student voice can help us understand why. Whenever developmentally appropriate, involve the student in identifying patterns, recognizing what helps, and determining what support may make a difference.

Listen, learn, and ask:

• What tends to make this situation harder?

• What usually happens right before things become difficult?

• What helps you stay successful or get back on track?

• What could adults do that would help?

• What could you try when this happens again?

The goal isn't to have the student explain or justify the behavior. It's to better understand their experience and build support with them—not simply for them.

📈 Is the Support Working?

IMPLEMENT → CHECK → INTERPRET → RESPOND → MONITOR

Making progress?
Continue and plan for generalization/fading.

Some progress?
Adjust instruction, frequency, reinforcement, environment, or implementation.

Little/no progress?
Revisit the hypothesis about the need/function and consider greater individualization.

CONTINUE • ADJUST • INTENSIFY • FADE