Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is an evidence-based framework. It works to improve and integrate the data, systems, and practices affecting student outcomes every day, while creating schools where all students succeed. PBIS isn’t a curriculum you purchase or something you learn during a one-day professional development training. It is a commitment to addressing student behavior through systems change. When implemented well, students achieve improved social and academic outcomes, schools experience reduced exclusionary discipline practices, and school personnel feel more effective.
The National Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports began in 1998. It is funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE). It supports schools, districts, and states to build capacity for implementing a tiered approach to social, emotional and behavioral support. The broad purpose of PBIS is to improve the effectiveness, efficiency and equity of schools and other agencies. PBIS also improves social, emotional and academic outcomes for all students. This includes students with disabilities as well as students from underrepresented groups.
PBIS provides:
- Technical assistance to encourage large-scale implementation of PBIS
- Organizational models, demonstrations, dissemination, and evaluation tools needed to implement PBIS across an extended array of contexts
On top of the provisions, it also extends the lessons learned from PBIS implementation to the broader agenda of educational reform.