Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS)

Positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) is a multi-tiered behavioral framework that provides differentiated evidence-based practices designed to benefit all students, especially those with emotional and behavioral disabilities. PBIS is used to support the social, emotional, and behavioral growth of students, class-wide and school-wide (Meyer et al., 2021). Because children do not all respond the same way, the model of support provided at school should not be a "one size fits all."

Three Tiers of Support in PBIS

Tier 1

Primary Prevention

Tier 1 provides universal support for all students within a school setting, also known as universal practices. The primary framework consists of rules, routines, and physical arrangements that are developed, taught to all students, and reinforced by school staff. Tier 1 supports and interventions address the behavioral management needs of approximately 80% of students (Keller-Bell & Short, 2019).

Tier 2

Secondary Prevention

Tier 2 provides targeted support for students who require additional support to be successful. This support is individualized for students with identified needs and considered to be at risk for developing more significant behavioral or academic problems. The primary framework is small group strategies and procedures, increased supervision, and opportunities for positive reinforcement (Hott, 2022). This tier is a more targeted than Tier 1 but not as intense as Tier 3. Tier 2 supports and interventions address 15% of students (Keller-Bell & Short, 2019).

Tier 3

Tertiary Prevention

Tier 3 provides intensive support for students who engage in chronic or high-risk behaviors and require individualized support to be successful, and for those who have not been successful at Tier 1 and Tier 2. These strategies are often used for students with autism or EBD (Hott, 2022). Functional behavior assessments and behavior intervention planning are utilized in this tier. Tier 3 supports and interventions address 1-5% of students (Keller-Bell & Short, 2019).

In all three tiers of PBIS support, documentation and data collection are essential. Students with EBD may receive supports at any of the PBIS levels, and data collection will assist in further referrals or moving a student through the levels of support (Hott, 2022).
Positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) provide a framework for prosocial behavioral expectations in school systems and classrooms for children with EBD (Keller-Bell & Short, 2019).
In schools that implement PBIS, students with EBD engage in more prosocial behavior and are less likely to engage in behaviors that are disruptive and interfere with learning (Meyer et al., 2021).

Facts about PBIS

More than 29,000 schools implement PBIS (Keller-Bell & Short, 2019).

PBIS supports more than 15 million students.

Of those 15 million students, 2 million have disabilities (Keller-Bell & Short, 2019).

PBIS is found to be effective in reducing disruptive student behavior.

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