Supporting Student Behavior: FBAs and Behavioral Intervention Plans

Supporting Student Behavior: FBAs and Behavioral Intervention Plans

Every IEP requires the IEP Team to answer whether the student has behavior that impedes his or her own learning or the learning of others. When the answer is yes, the team must act — the question cannot be checked and left unaddressed. Proactive behavior planning is the first and best protection for both the student and the LEA, because a well-developed behavior plan reduces the behavior that leads to removals.

Legal Citations

• IDEA — IEP special factors (Section 1414(d)(3)(B))

• 34 CFR Part 300 — special factors (300.324(a)(2)); behavioral intervention plans (300.324(a)(3))

• Alabama Administrative Code, Chapter 290-8-9

Practical Guidance

When "Does the student have behavior which impedes his/her learning or the learning of others?" is checked Yes on the Special Instructional Factors, the behavior must be addressed in the IEP in one or more of these ways: a measurable annual goal, a related service, supplementary aids and services, or a Behavioral Intervention Plan (BIP). Checking Yes without addressing the behavior somewhere in the IEP is a compliance error.

A functional behavioral assessment (FBA) identifies the function the behavior serves for the student — what the student gets or avoids through the behavior — and is the foundation on which an effective BIP is built. An IEP Team meeting to develop or revise a BIP is one of the listed purposes on the Notice and Invitation to a Meeting/Consent for Agency Participation; use that form to convene the team.

A BIP developed by the IEP Team should define the problem behavior in observable terms, identify the function of the behavior, describe the interventions and supports that will replace or redirect it, and specify how staff will respond consistently when the behavior occurs.

When "Does the student have a Behavioral Intervention Plan?" is checked Yes, the BIP must be addressed in the IEP. SES strongly encourages attaching the BIP through the documents tab in the student information system, or using the optional form in the student information system.

Behavior plans travel with the student. If a student with a BIP receives transportation, the plan should be shared with the bus driver and other support personnel, and bus personnel may require additional training on the plan. Behavior supports should also be reflected in the Supplementary Aids and Services section for the general education setting.

Common Errors Identified Through Monitoring

• The behavior special factor checked Yes with no goal, related service, supplementary aid, or BIP addressing it in the IEP

• BIP in place but not attached to or referenced in the IEP

• A BIP that names the behavior but does not identify its function or the staff responses to it

• The plan not shared with all personnel responsible for implementing it, including bus staff

Alabama State Department of Education — Special Education Services (SES)

Materials are provided for technical assistance purposes and do not constitute legal advice.