Refera

The Pre-Referral Process:
Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) /Response to Intervention (RTI)
Anika M. Taylor
Special Education Foundations and Framework
February 20, 2013

Schools and entire districts have embarked on multiple strategies to address challenging areas for students with disabilities and those at risk for behavioral and academic failures. Over the years, educators and policymakers have recognized the need to create, implement, and document practices that have proven to make an impact on student learning and behaviors. Many of the strategies used have focused on the collection of data and the collaboration between and amongst professionals. Today, educators agree that the key to effective interventions for students at risk for failure and those with disabilities lies in a comprehensive approach that fosters growth in student overall learning and behaviors. Several approaches were designed to meet the challenges that students experience as they engage in their learning. These approaches include two processes outlined in this discussion: Response to Intervention (RTI) and Positive Behavioral Intervention Support (PBIS). Response to Intervention (RTI) integrates assessments and intervention within a school wide, multi-level prevention system to maximize student achievement and reduce behavior problems. The RTI process helps to identify students for poor learning outcomes, provide evidence based interventions and monitors student progress. (NICHCY, 2012) This process may be used to identify students with specific learning disabilities or other disabilities. The RTI process is a multi-level instructional framework geared to improve outcomes for all students. This process provides instant support to students who display poor learning outcomes and can be used to assess for learning disabilities. The RTI process works on a tied system. In the Tier 1 phase, at-risk students go through a screening process to receive researched based instruction. This can be done school wide or in a small group setting. No more than six to eight weeks is allotted to see if the student responds to the intervention. Student progress is monitored very closely. If this intervention shows success, then the students’ difficulties may have resulted from less appropriate or insufficiently targeted instruction. If a student does not respond well to the interventions provided in Tier 1 they are moved to the next RTI level. Tier 2 is a more intense level of intervention. This tier focuses on the areas in which the student is having difficulty and is allotted more time then Tier 1. If the student shows success with the interventions in Tier 2 then it has been successful and that type of instruction is working well for the student. If students continue to not respond to the interventions offered in Tiers 1 and 2 a third level becomes an option. Tier 3 is more individualized and intense. Progress in Tier 3 is assessed more frequently to determine if the intervention is effective. Student data during the RTI Tier process is used during the evaluation process and when a determination is being made for possible special education services. Positive Behavior Intervention and Support is defined as a framework for enhancing the adoption and implementation of a continuum of evidence-based interventions to achieve academically and behaviorally important outcome for all students. (PBIS, 2013) PBIS combines primary, secondary and tertiary preventions interventions. The primary prevention stage uses universal intervention for all students. Behavioral expectations are explained, taught and encouraged. Both students and teachers are given positive and negative examples of behavioral expectations.
The secondary prevention stage provides interventions to those students that don’t respond well to the primary prevention efforts. During this stage the interventions are more intense. This stage is geared more towards those students who are in need of more behavior support. Secondary prevention can include group interventions and practices such as social skills club, check in/check out and the behavior education plan. The tertiary prevention stage is most helpful when the primary and secondary systems are strong. During this process the challenging student and the people that know them well work together to promote positive change. Interventions should be student specific. Diminishing problem behaviors and increasing the students adaptive skills are the primary goals in this stage of the process. Overall, these two processes for enhancing student performance have provided educators with valuable and reliable tools that yield helpful data. The strengths of these valuable tools are clearly embedded in their capabilities in helping teachers to monitor and change student behaviors and academic practices and attitudes. Looking at both programs, it is also clear that they have the potential to reach the most challenging behaviors of students within the K- 12 settings. They both provide a blueprint for educators who are engaged in the diverse classroom. Their continued implementation has great promise within the school setting.

References (2013,). What is school-wide positive behavioral interventions & supports? Retrieved from Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support website: http://pbis.org/school/what_is_swpbs.aspx

(2012,). Response to intervention (RTI). Retrieved from National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities website: http://nichcy.org/schools-administrators/rti