.:: Tertiary Prevention Pt. 2::.

Covering Tertiary Prevention Pt. 2: Molly Palmer

PBIS, Special Education, and The Law

• PBIS often used at the Tertiary level for students receiving special education services
• PBIS is the only behavioral approach specifically mentioned as an intervention in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
• One of the primary reasons Congress included PBIS in the law was to address the “historic exclusion of individuals with disabilities based on unaddressed behavior”
• Felt students were being excluded from educational opportunities because of behavior issues
• In both the 1997 and 2004 versions of the law, it states:

(5) Almost 30 years of research and experience has demonstrated that the education of children with disabilities can be made more effective by—

(F) providing incentives for whole-school approaches, scientifically based early reading programs, positive behavioral interventions and supports, and early intervening services to reduce the need to label children as disabled in order to address the learning and behavioral needs of such children.

• IDEA requires that an IEP team:
• Considers the use of PBIS for students whose behavior impedes on their learning or the learning of others
• Provides a functional behavioral assessment when a student has no behavior plan but is removed from school for more than ten days (such as a suspension) for a behavior that is a result of a disability
• Provides a functional behavioral assessment to address any behavior that results in a long-term removal
• IDEA also authorizes states to use professional development funds and created its own competitive grant funds for training in PBIS

Example of a Tertiary Approach Used in Special Education - Wraparound

• Special Education students can receive a range of different types of interventions depending on their individual situation
• One particularly intensive example at the tertiary level is the Wraparound method, a program rooted in the theories of Urie Bronfenbrenner
• Considered unique because it consists of a team designed by the student and the family
• It is composed of families, schools, and community partners which design plans to address emotional, cultural, educational, social needs as well as the living environment, basic needs, and safety of the students
• It is unconditional – the student does not fit into a pre-made plan, rather the plan is molded around the student and changes according to their needs
• Designed to follow a continuum where the student can climb their way through interventions until they only participate in school-wide behavioral supports