When chronic problem behaviors occur in schools, the tendency is to react with stringent and restrictive consequences. Recently, emphasis has shifted toward proactive prevention strategies. In this article, we focus on what we know and need to know about school-wide applications of effective practices and systems for preventing problem behaviors.…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and No Child Left Behind emphasize the use of scientifically based research to improve outcomes for students. From this emphasis, response-to-intervention has evolved. We present one perspective on the defining features of response-to-intervention and application of those features to school-wide…

This article reviews features of behavioral support plans that teams should consider as they develop positive, effective responses to problem behavior, including investing in prevention occurrences of problem behavior and developing instructional objectives, avoiding rewarding problem behaviors, rewarding positive behaviors, and knowing what to do…

This article examines the contextual, conceptual, and empirical foundations of functional behavioral assessment (FBA) in general educational settings. The need for schools to design effective responses to increases in individual problem behavior and the need to be compliant with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act are discussed.…