Student Behavior and Discipline
Students with chronic behavior problems face significant challenges in the classroom. Students displaying behavior problems often exhibit other high-risk indicators such as excessive absenteeism, lack of engagement, academic difficulties in multiple content areas, and grade retention. In order to ensure all students’ are successful academically, school systems and schools must also play an essential role in student’s social and emotional well being and be a place that teaches skills needed to navigate life.
Multi-Tiered System of Supports: Effective behavior systems should be a critical component of every school system and school. The Department is focused on providing support and resources needed to implement a tiered system of response for student behavior and supports.
Behavioral Intervention: The Department is committed to enhancing school climate and improving behavioral intervention practice in schools. School systems and schools should prioritize utilization of evidence based behavioral interventions to ensure students have access to Tier 2 and/or Tier 3 supports to manage behavioral challenges.
Social-Emotional Learning: School systems should implement and prioritize evidence based social-emotional learning to support individual student growth and promote a healthy school climate and culture.
Multi-Tiered System of Supports
Schools that achieve sustained high performance for all students, including students with disabilities, have been shown to employ a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS). MTSS is a “comprehensive system that screens all students to identify needs early and provide real-time interventions and supports that can be intensified, if needed. MTSS uses data-based problem solving and decision making across all levels of the educational system for supporting students.” MTSS prioritizes alignment of resources and support for students, teachers, and staff. MTSS includes universal screening of all students for social and emotional needs, collaborative data-based decision making to guide more intensive screening and referrals, evidence-based interventions for students who struggle in routine instructional settings or with social-emotional behaviors, and frequent progress monitoring to assess interventions and facilitate necessary adjustments.
School systems should identify and implement a system of behavioral intervention response that aligns with the MTSS framework. This will include the use of implementation science to bolster the five tenets of MTSS: (1) Team-Driven Shared Leadership, (2) Data Based Problem Solving and decision making, (3) Layered Continuum of Supports, (4) Evidence Based practices, and (5) Family, School and Community Partnering. All five tenets must be reflected in the overall plan submitted.
Evidence Based Interventions
The primary objective of all behavioral intervention practice is to ensure struggling students are identified and receive appropriate evidence-based interventions to assist them in progressing toward graduation, postsecondary education, and career readiness. Evidence based interventions should be selected to target each specific area of student behavior, ranging from reducing aggression, addressing trauma, reducing disruption, etc.
Social-Emotional Learning
Recent research demonstrates that to be successful in adult life, students must master not only core academics,but also master social emotional skills and a mindset that embodies a good citizen (Bock, 2015). Socio-emotional functioning of students, a non- academic component of schooling, is inextricably intertwined with academic functioning.
Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) curricula and strategies should be implemented within a Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) framework. Use of an SEL curricula is one component of a system of prevention, response and intervention to assist students struggling with disruptive or concerning behaviors. The SEL curriculum should be used heavily in workforce learning to expand awareness of SEL deficiencies and as a tier 1 intervention for problematic student behavior.