How to Set Up a Behavior Classroom

HOW TO:

Set Up a Behavior Classroom

WHY

- BECAUSE THE CONTINUUM OF SERVICES PRINCIPLE SAYS ALL SCHOOLS SHOULD HAVE THIS -

In addition, there is a federal statute that also says it.

See below from IDEA, 2004 (https://sites.ed.gov/idea/regs/b/b/300.115)

A behavior classroom can accomplish many goals:

• Offer a quiet place to study for students who have behavioral issues in large classes that can get loud (especially when there's no classroom management system in place and rules are not being followed overall)

• Offer a place for additional 1:1 academic instruction (especially for classes where inclusion is not available or accommodations are not being implemented with fidelity)

• Offer a place for social skills instruction and social/emotional support for those students who have mental health diagnoses and need longer to recover from setbacks at school

• Offer a place to problem-solve and engage in developing self-awareness and self-control

WHO

- BECAUSE THIS CLASSROOM IS NOT MEANT FOR THOSE STUDENTS NO ONE LIKES -

• Students with Emotional Disturbance

• Students with other educational disabilities + BIP and/or Counseling as a Related Service

NOTE:

Any students fully included in general education (Instructional Setting 40) should not be referred to a BC before a BIP (or something else) is attempted in general education. This is because the Behavior Classroom should be on your continuum of services, somewhere in between general education and completely self-contained, as opposed to it being a place where problematic students go because they disrupt the general education setting too much.

If you have a teacher saying things like, "What do I need to do to get this kid out of my room?", then that teacher is definitely the problem (and likely not the student).

If you have a teacher saying things like, "I've tried the BIP, it doesn't work!" - please look into how the BIP was used (what I mean is: ask for documentation showing the BIP was implemented with fidelity - if the school does not have forms for this, they need to make some up - I can help with this as well).

HOW

- BECAUSE PROCEDURES AND GUIDELINES ARE IMPORTANT AND ENSURE UNIFORMITY OF ACCESS -

Any school professional should be able to refer students to BC.

Once the referral is made (this should be at least one piece of paper to document when and who referred, and why), the IEP Team should get together and review the following:

• Eligibility

• whether there is a BIP

• whether the student receives Counseling

ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS for the IEP Team:

If No FBA - FBA needs to be conducted and a BIP needs to be developed and implemented before the BC can be considered (one reporting period is generally sufficient to show whether the BIP works or not) - if FBA is needed, the recommendation is to schedule another ARD so that forms and paperwork can be properly prepared for the parent

If Yes FBA - If FBA and BIP are or have been implemented for a while, the recommendation is to collect formal data to see how the BIP is or is not implemented/working in the classroom

MORE THINGS TO CONSIDER

Reasons teachers do not implement BIP's:

"It's too hard!"

"There's too much to document!"

"I don't even have access to it!"

"This stuff doesn't even work!"

Many times it is sufficient to adjust BIP (by changing environmental factors such as a certain class period or seating arrangement).

If BIP can be adjusted, the ARDC can determine to utilize new BIP for a predetermined period of time (generally, one reporting period) and reconvene to look at data and make further decisions.

If BIP cannot be adjusted (the reason should be well documented in the deliberations of the IEP meeting where this is addressed), then the ARDC can make a decision to use the BC for the student: in other words, when the committee feels like everything put in place does not work, the committee can look at restricting the student's environment while they figure out how to better support outside of that classroom.

NOTE: TEACHERS REFUSING TO IMPLEMENT BIP'S is not a good enough reason for a student to be referred to BC.

LOGISTICS

Once the IEP Team determines that BC is appropriate, the following will also have to be determined:

• Start and end date (and the conditions for the end date; absences, medical appointments, and half-days should be factored in)

• Partial day vs. Full Day

  • Specific class periods (predetermined by team in meeting)

  • Random class periods (student choice as they get overwhelmed during the day - there is a risk of overusing the BC room - please consider carefully)

• Method of communication with classroom teachers (they will still have to instruct the student, however, the rules for this are different from place to place). There will have to be agreement on:

  • How/when they will deliver instruction

  • How/when they will grade assignments/tests

  • Accommodations they will have to use

• Method of communication with special education teachers - if the student has modified instruction - those teachers will have to provide instruction and work too (see above, it all still applies)

• Method of communication with the home (some parents appreciate frequent contacts from school, others do not - you will have to figure it out and decide how to keep in touch with parents/families)

• Gradual vs. Abrupt exit from BC

  • This can be determined at the first meeting

    • Example:

      • After X successful days in BC, student will go to 2nd period for general education instruction with inclusion support for social studies

      • After x successful days of BC + 2nd period, student will go to two additional periods (and so on and so forth)

For students who need supervised transitions, one of the BC staff can escort to and from class as prescribed by the IEP Team.

Legend:

BC = Behavior Classroom

ED = Emotional Disturbance

BIP = Behavior Intervention Plan

FBA = Functional Behavioral Assessment

ARDC - Admission, Review, and Dismissal (to and from special education services) Committee - also known as the IEP Team in Texas.