Check-in check-out (CICO) is a widely implemented program aimed at increasing prosocial behavior. Aligned with the logic of Tier 2 supports, CICO has a standard protocol meant to be implemented in a standardized fashion across all students. However, as CICO is not effective for all at-risk students, it is quite common to find researchers…

In schools, special education teachers and paraprofessionals are expected to support the completion of functional behavior assessment procedures in the development of a behavior support plan. Often times, school-personnel are limited in their training and resources, particularly in situations where experimental procedures are necessary. This…

Most paraprofessionals are not well trained to implement evidence-based practices that can improve student outcomes. In this study, we trained a paraprofessional to use evidence-based instructional practices with an elementary student with a severe disability who exhibited challenging behavior. Through functional analysis, we determined the…

The success of function-based interventions depends not just on the quality of procedures but also on the extent to which procedures are implemented as planned. Too often in schools, effort is committed to functional assessment and behavior support plan design, only to be followed by weak implementation. This study used a multiple baseline across…

In two studies, the systematic approach to designing functional assessment-based interventions (FABIs) created by Umbreit, Ferro, Liaupsin, and Lane (2007) was used with high school students receiving special education services in self-contained classrooms reserved for students with persistent behavior problems. In Study 1, an AB design was used…

The Good Behavior Game (GBG) has been demonstrated to reduce disruptive student behavior during implementation. The effects of playing the GBG on disruption immediately before and after the GBG are unknown. The current study evaluated the effects of the GBG on disruption in 5 kindergarten classes immediately before, during, and after GBG…

Exemplifying the insufficient treatment of legal issues in refereed journals in special education and related fields, the limited legal coverage of functional behavioral assessments (FBAs) and behavior intervention plans (BIPs) tends to view the applicable case law through normative lenses. This skewed view characterizes the case law as requiring…

A restorative approach to conflict is being increasingly applied in schools around the world. Existing evaluation evidence has tended to focus on the impact on quantifiable outcomes such as number of behaviour incidents and rates of attendance and exclusion. This case study aimed to broaden the evidence base to capture a richer picture of the…

Restorative justice is a non-punitive approach to resolving conflict that focuses on restoring relationships. This report summarizes recommendations about future research and evaluation needs that would advance the understanding of restorative justice in K-12 schools in the United States. The recommendations were generated from interviews with…

In this study we examine the impact of the Behavior Education Program (BEP; Hawken, MacLeod, & Rawlings, 2007) with four middle school students who were not responsive to a comprehensive primary prevention program including academic, behavioral and social components. To extend this line of inquiry we (a) conducted a functional behavioral…

A comprehensive function-based intervention was developed to address the chronic, high levels of off-task behavior by a 15-year-old ninth grade Caucasian male with learning disabilities and ADHD. A descriptive FBA identified that the student's off-task behavior was reinforced by peer attention and task avoidance. Intervention involved the…

The Academic and Behavioral Competencies (ABC) Program, a schoolwide program to reduce classroom disruption and encourage rule following, academic task completion, and homework completion, is described. The program was initially developed and implemented in an elementary school with a high-risk population. Data from teachers, parents, and children…