Behavior Management Plans (IEP)
From WikEd
Descriptions, definitions, terms, synonyms, and types of
Behavior Management Plan (BMP)
Behavior Intervention Plans (BIP) or Behavior Management Invention (BMI).
Usually referred to as a Behavior Intervention Plan and these plans are constructed for students (with an individual education plan) who need their behavior managed by a team. This plan is to be created once a series of interventions have been tried and have not been successful. This plan will be included in the child's IEP and becomes a legal document to help provide special education services for the student for the duration of the IEP. It is important to also note that this plan may be changed if it needs to be. However, in order to make changes, the IEP team should convene to discuss the changes and collaborate to make certain the changes are necessary and effective.
Behavior management plans exist for a myriad of reasons, and behavior plans should only be created if the child’s behavior adversely affects the child’s acquisition of new skills or creates an adverse, learning environment for other students. Behavior management plans can be written for students who have various types of disabilities. Along with the behavior plan a functional Behavior analysis must be conducted. An FBA is an assessment that is conducted on the student and seeks to understand the target behavior and why the behavior occurs.
FBA should include all team members (parents, teacher, specialist, providers)anyone who has contact with your child.
The FBA can be done by the school, a special education teacher or by an outside behaviorist. In either case the FBA report should be discussed at the team meeting with the school. Once the FBA is complete, the special education teacher should call an IEP team meeting to review the report. This plan become a part of the child’s IEP and is implemented the day after the IEP meeting.
WHAT IS A FUNCTIONAL BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT?
The 1997 Amendments to IDEA are explicit in what they require of an IEP team addressing behavioral problems of children with disabilities:
The team should explore the need for strategies and support systems to address any behavior that may impede the learning of the child with the disability or the learning of his/her peers.
In response to disciplinary actions by school personnel, the IEP team should, within 10 days, meet to formulate a functional behavioral assessment plan to collect data for developing a behavior intervention plan. If a behavior intervention plan already exists, the team must review and revise it (as necessary) to ensure that it addresses the behavior upon which disciplinary action is predicated.
Functional behavioral assessment is an approach that looks beyond the overt topography of behavior ( that is, what the behavior looks like) to focus upon identifying the factors that initiate, sustain, or end the behavior in question. It allows us to focus on why a student misbehaves, rather than just at the symptom of the behavior itself. The function of a behavior is not considered inappropriate, rather the behavior itself. Therefore, it is critical to not only decrease the undesired behavior, but to teach an appropriate behavior that serves the same function as the inappropriate behavior.
In conducting a functional behavioral assessment, it is important that the behavior in question be defined in concrete terms, avoiding general descriptions such as "aggressive," "disruptive," or "hyperactive." Define the behavior by describing it in observable terms.
Next, you must determine whether the behavior is a result of a skill deficit or a performance deficit. If the student does not know how to behave appropriately in a setting, or to display the desired skill, then his misbehavior may be the result of a skill deficit. A functional behavioral assessment would answer the following questions:
Does the student understand the behavioral expectations for the situation?
Does the student realize that he or she is engaging in unacceptable behavior, or has that behavior simply become habit?
Is it within the student’s power to control the behavior, or does he or she need support?
Does the student have the skills necessary to perform the expected, new behaviors?
If the answers to these questions are NO, then the student’s misbehavior is a result of a skill deficit. Behavior management strategies should be developed to teach the student the deficit skill, while rewarding its usage.
If the student has the skills necessary to behave appropriately in the situation, but for some reason chooses not to use that skill or modify his/her behavior, then the misbehavior may be due to a performance deficit. A functional behavioral assessment would answer the following questions:
Is it possible that the student is uncertain about the appropriateness of the behavior?
Does the student find any value in engaging in appropriate behavior (is it rewarding)?
Is the behavior problem associated with certain social or environmental conditions?
Is the student attempting to avoid a "low-interest" or demanding task?
What rules, routines, or expectations does the student consider irrelevant?
If the answers to these questions suggest the misbehavior is a result of a performance deficit, behavior management strategies should be developed to make the performance of classroom and school expectations rewarding, while providing consequences for failure to perform.
http://www.stmary.k12.la.us/specialservices/classroo.htm
GUIDELINES TO FOLLOW WHEN WRITING AN INDIVIDUALIZED BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT PLAN
Conduct a functional behavioral assessment of the problem behavior to determine the function the behavior is serving.
The targeted problem behavior should be described in specific, observable terms.
Long-term goals for behavior should also be stated in positive behavioral terms with a suggested timetable for their attainment.
Alternative, acceptable behaviors should also be identified, taught, and rewarded to replace the targeted problem behavior.
The behavior plan should be described in sufficient detail to provide the child or his/her parents with an adequate basis for informed consent.
The relationship between each goal and each element of the intervention plan should be carefully explained to the student and his/her parents.
The intervention plan should describe how individuals from the student’s environment will be included. The plan should also describe how limits imposed on the child will be withdrawn as the child improves.
The person or persons responsible for conducting each element of the plan should be clearly delineated. This ensures some degree of accountability for the family.
The behavior plan should be reviewed and appropriately revised on a regular basis (at least once a grading period). If the plan does not appear to be effective it is advised that the established rewards should be reviewed.
The process of changing behavior essentially involves two basic elements:
Unlearning (or reducing in strength) the undesirable behavior
Learning the desirable behavior
This manual will take you through the steps necessary to systematically change undesirable behavior and to teach and/or strengthen positive, alternative behavior.
A behavior plan should always addresses three issues, called the ABC's of behavior.
Antecedent (what was going on just before the behavior), Behavior itself, and Consequence (what happens as a result of the behavior).
http://www.stmary.k12.la.us/specialservices.classroo.htm Concord SPED http://concordspedpac.org/index.html
Neal, Pat. Writing a Behavior Management Plan. Louisiana State Department of Education.
Application in classrooms and similar settings
The application of the Behavior Intervention plan within an IEP is implemented the day after the IEP meeting. As with a regular IEP, the goals, benchmarks, and services are to go into effect the following day and will last a year until the annual review. The annual review is where the child’s plan is discussed and new educational goals are written within the child's specific deficit area (i.e. written expression, reading comprehension, mathematical reasoning, mathematical computation, etc.). The BIP is a part of the IEP and if this plan is not implemented then the school is non-compliant with the law. This plan must be followed, so when it is written the special education teacher and the staff must be keenly aware of the ramifications and expectations of this plan. If it is not, those who do not follow the BMP can be faced with legal ramifications. These legal issues could be as serious as suing by the family of the child, or simple reprimands from administration.
Barb Eichhorn, Director of Special Education through training at MSHS
http://ici2.umn.edu/elink/6k6bc6lcb_2/html
Evidence of effectiveness
It is believe that a written behavior management plan is more effective than a student attempting to follow written rules on the board. This plan serves as a legal document and as a written contract for the student. In most cases the student is invited to the IEP meeting and when the student sees their legal guardian and the host of school staff at the meeting, it of ten gets their attention. The student, in many cases realizes the severity of the issue and this also serves as a major accountability piece.
http://www.stmary.k12.la.us/specialservices.classroo/htm
After using the plan for 1 full school year most all problems were eliminated. A dramatic improvement occurred within 6 weeks and grades went to above average and higher. The teachers followed the plan and it worked.
Hope this helps some of you as it did us and our child. Some simple things can make a great difference if the entire Team sticks with it. Feel free to modify and implement your own BMP.
After this Plan no events occurred again and no more alternative school, it was written out of the Plan.
The above is a success story for one parent but it should be noted that not all plans or situations are wrapped up so neatly. The reality is that plans and children can change and often do. Nonetheless, there are some students who need a behavior intervention plan for years. In some cases maturity occurs, interventions are successful, student accountability increases, which causes the plan to shorten
Concord SPED http://concordspedpac.org/index.html
Critics and their rationale
Many parents do not like the idea of their student having a BMP, but it can be the best thing for the safety of the student, the school environment and other students.
Barb Eichhorn, Director of Special Education through training at MSHS
Alternative explanations due to Diversity considerations
A BMP is unique to each kid. When writting a BMP you must take into consideration the age, sex, disablity, home life, and any other antecedents that may cause inappropraite behaviors.
Barb Eichhorn, Director of Special Education through training at MSHS
Signed "life experiences", testimonies and stories
The following is an actual sample of a BMP.
Hope this helps some of you as it did us and our child. Some simple things can make a great difference if the entire Team sticks with it. Feel free to modify and implement your own BMP.
BEHAVIORAL MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR student name IEP/BMP
I. Target Goals
A. Student name will learn to abide by classroom and school rules as evidenced by a decrease in discipline referrals.
B. Student name will improve his social skills as evidenced by less reported conflicts with peers.
C. Student name will experience academic success as measured by passing grades on his report card and standardized testing.
II. Interventions
A. Student name will receive liberal verbal praise for all completed work and compliance to class room rules.
B. Student name will receive a participation grade for appropriated classroom participation and compliance. The grade will be noted on the weekly report to the parents, along with all grades received during the week in each class.
C. Student name will be seated near the front in each class to assist with attentiveness and compliance.
D. Student name will receive additional free time, as a reward, when he has completed all assignments in compliance with the Teacher instructions. This includes but is not limited to computer time, napping, reading, assisting Teacher, etc....
E. Student name and Mrs. XXXXX (School Counselor) will contact each other, every Thursday to coordinate each week's incomplete or missed assignments in each class utilizing the prepared form from Mrs. XXXXX. Mrs. XXXX will keep a copy and send a sealed copy home to the parents. Mr. and Mrs. XXXX will then use Saturday school to make-up work and see that it is returned on Monday or by Wednesday if due to absence.
If a Teacher fails to list make-up work Student name will be given the opportunity to make it up and will not be penalized for it. Friday is a backup day if not completed on Thursday.
F. When Student name is not cooperating, following rules or being disruptive then the teaching staff or others shall initially use a verbal redirection.
G. If the verbal redirection fails, the Teacher will initiate a one to one conference outside the room in an attempt to have Student name regroup or change the behavior.
H. Following this, if the behavioral conference fails, Student name will be sent to Mrs. XXXXXX for counseling and possibly a discussion with Vice Principle about conduct in school.
I. If counseling on the behavioral problem that occurred does not correct the behavior the parents will be contacted and discuss the behavior problem either by phone or conference. If the parents consent Student name could be sent to ISS for a day for that occurrence only after an appropriate investigation has been completed and the parents have been informed and agree.
If the problem continues Student name will be counseled by Mr. XXX who will be called by the School, and the parents will be notified by Mr. XXX when he will see Student name and will have a discussion with the parents at that time of the problem and suggested solution.
After the counseling Mr. XXX and the parents will discuss solutions and actions to implement.
J. Student name will receive counseling on peer relation and social skills from Mrs. XXXXXX on a bi-weekly basis. Counseling should provide skills to build and manage his attention and learning strategies to enhance academic performance.
This will help him become more self discipline and make better decisions to succeed in High School. If Mrs. XXXXXX is not available Mr. Tim XXXXX (Outside Contract Counselor) will be utilized.
K. Following the implementation of the above plan, should Student name fail to correct the behavior or if there should be any serious un-cooperativeness then a parent conference will be called. The counselor and the nearest member of the IEP Team to the class situation will also be included to discuss corrective actions.
If necessary the full IEP Team will be reconvened to assess changes as may be appropriate.
If a referral to the principal's office should occur the parents will be notified at that time and a meeting will be held that day if possible or the next day to determine the correct course of action to be taken in accordance with Law 504 and Section B, IDEA Guidelines and the School Code of Conduct as it applies to Law 504 and Section B of the IDEA.
L. If Student name should continue to fail or if the current plan should need modification then the IEP committee will reconvene to assess changes as may be appropriate.
M. All teachers must be aware that Student name has serious impaired vision in his Right eye. He should be seated as to where all instruction is received in his Left hemisphere as much as possible. He is to be seated near the front of the class within 2 or 3 seats. Due to how some rooms are set up distance is to be considered.
N. Student name is taking medication under a Doctors orders.
NOTE: Last update was 7-18-2000. This update is provided on 8-22-2000.
Changes made to items (I) and (J). Item (M) added for clarification on visual impairment. Item (N) added for information.
If the School rejects any part of the modifications a written response shall be forwarded to the parents within 10 days.
Concord SPED http://concordspedpac.org/index.html
BMP's can be very useful. However, in my school we use BIP's in conjunction with FBA's. It depends on who is writing the plan. I feel that when the classroom teacher is most involved the plan works well. When social workers and other members of special education teams are most involved they can not always put in place a plan that is working well in the classroom. The main point has to be functionality. J. Mehouse (Feb 2009)
BMPs have been hugely successful at my school for students to open lines of discussion and communication of inappropriate and appropriate behaviors. Admittedly, we don’t have any severe behavior problems since we are a private school, and those with significant needs get outsourced to other schools. However, even for students classified with "significant" behavior issues as opposed to severe, the process of outlining the misbehaviors with all the teachers involved, and sitting down going through in detail with parents and the student what is and what is not permissible seems to be of benefit. A system of consequences and rewards must be followed in order for the plan to be successful. Also, parent cooperation is vital. Generally, the strategies we use at school can be followed at home as well, and parents most commonly note an improvement at home in student behavior as well. A related strategy being adopted by schools across the country is PBIS, a systems change model in which behavior changes are sought which affect not only student school behavior, but student quality of life in all aspects. Pat Reed
I've seen nothing but positive things come out of BMPs. Yes, communication is wide open, but discrete so as not to emabarrass the student. When a plan comes out, I've learned that behaviors of the child are not controled by the child. The plan was meant for the child to regain control. Any time I can be a part of that makes me a better teacher. M. Uhls
BMPs are successful at our school when they are communicated to us. Often times, we have a student with a BMP in our class and are not made aware of it until a situation occurs. This obviously is not the ideal way of communicating. Our school eventually gets copies of IEPs to teachers, but that usually occurs after the first few weeks (months) of school. Once I have the plan and specific accomodations, everything works great. E. Morrison
I have used behavioral management plans for some high school students I have taught. The key is to get all members, including the students, on board with the plan and to enforce the plan across all settings the student is involved with. Unfortunately, if the plan isn’t enforced at home, the plan will be less likely to succeed and change student behaviors. P. Graham
During my eight years as a special education teacher, working with learning disabled students (LD) and students with emotional/behavior disorders (E/BD), I saw very few positive outcomes that resulted from a behavior management plan. In our school district, behavior management plans are done as a formality. They are ussually done as a last resort before a special education student is sent to an alternative placement. The parties involved in developing the plan typically do not follow through with carrying out the plan. My experiences, with writing and attempting to implement behavior management plans, have led me to view the document as ineffective and useless. - G. Hall, Special Education Teacher
I believe the BMP should be implemented prior to major educational changes being made in a student’s education. Often, I see "old school" educators wanting a misbehaving student to be placed in an alternate setting. I say that a bit tongue in cheek because I have also seen administrators dance around and hold out on a problem child who has had every intervention known to man developed for them and they still won’t place in an alternative setting because of budgetary constraints. Nick Chatterton - Middle School Social Studies
I have participated in many IEP meetings due to the increase of mainstreaming and I have had many eye opening experiences in the meetings. I think that it is wonderful for students to be looked at closely to see if progress has been made from year to year. As the student gets older, it is important for the teachers that will be getting these students to be better aware of what types of things need to be done to accommodate them. I have seen a few students get left by the side because they never received the proper attention which led them to fail. Nick Hartz - Bureau Valley South Junior High
I believe that every student should have an Individual Education Plan. We have the right idea in special education. Adapt instruction to meet the needs of a struggling student. Why not have an IEP for every student so they can grow based on their skill and development. T. Ashley
As a special educator, I have utilized Behavior Management Plans to enhance the I.E.P.'s and understand their intrinsic value in the overall learning process. Often we find that by having a plan, we can not only get the desired educational goals, but the behavioral one's as well. This make's the BMP a very valuable tool. Pat Johnson
Behavior management plans and IEPs are wonderful. Before my first year of teaching I was nervous that I would not be able to meet the needs of all of the students in my classroom, and especially the students who required special curriculum and attention. I was also given the assignment of teaching a remedial math course in which nearly every student had an IEP. At first I found the paperwork a little overwhelming. After a few weeks I found it was my saving grace. Each student has their own learning needs and styles. I found that in most cases an IEP or a behavior management plan would be full of strategies and techniques for teaching a child that would really work for that child. Once I understood how to use the information I had been given, it was easy to accommodate the needs of these special learners. I hope every teacher who reads this will have as much luck with behavior management plans and IEPs as I did. Good luck. – Jeremiah Johnson
I have come across difficulty with implementing BIPs for students who are in mostly mainstream classes. The mainstream teachers seem to be somewhat resistant to the idea of having to use "extra" strategies in order to promote success for special needs students, including those students with emotional disabilities where a BIP is a part of their IEP. It usually takes the special education teacher sitting down and talking to the mainstream teacher and explaining how the BIP works, and that's if the mainstream teacher will even sit down to talk about it in the first place." - J. Grady
To help place student in the ED. program my team came up with a chart that we filled out every day on a student. Information included:
- In class and on time
- Prepared for class (book, pencil, paper)
- Participated in class
- Used time wisely
- Completed homework
- Layed head on desk
- Drew during class
This helped to give us information to give to our intervention team who is in charge of testing students. M. Hafenrichter
The problem that I have with the BMP for my students is that the parents don't buy into it and the plan itself becomes a mockery. For instance: a student is habitually drunk at school, looking beyond all of the other issues that are attached to this - the BMP proposes that "Student will TRY not to drink in school 85% of the time" and the special ed. aid will monitor this. The aid only sees the student once each day. Another BMP dealt with gang affiliation and one of the proposals "will try to avoid making gang gestures 75% of the time" ... how can you even measure something like that? BMP have worked well in the past but they really need parental and administrative support. - Patrick
References and other links of interest
Concord SPED http://concordspedpac.org/index.html
Dr. Mac's http://www.behavioradvisor.com/
Intervention Central http://www.interventioncentral.com/
US Dept of Ed http://www.ed.gov/index.jhtml
http://www.stmary.k12.la.us/specialservices/classroo.htm
http://ici2.umn.edu/elink/6k6b/c6k6b_2/html
http://ericec.org/digests/e571.html
http://www.fape.org/idea/what_idea_is/osher/main.htm
http://www.isbe.state.il.us/spec-ed/pdfs/iep_tech_assist.pdf
Project PARA http://para.unl.edu/para/Behavior/Intro.html
Write Your Own Plan (also includes sample plans) http://specialchildren.about.com/od/specialeducation/qt/behaviorplan.htm
