Why P.B.I.S. Needs to GTFO

Research shows Positive Behaviour Interventions & Supports programs do more harm than good

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PBIS is compliance-based

Students most at risk of being harmed by Positive Behavioural Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and similar behaviourism-based programming are already vulnerable and marginalized: Students in the ethnic minority, students living in poverty, disabled students, and students who are neurodivergent.

While these programs purport to reduce concerning, disruptive, and unsafe behaviour in schools, their claims of being proven effective in peer-reviewed studies are highly problematic, in particular due to their narrow definitions of “success”.

I will deconstruct the weak evidence used to market PBIS and similar programs and discuss the risks of these programs being widely implemented in public schools.

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Who and what are P.B.I.S.?

The Center on P.B.I.S. is an organization which sells pre-packaged behaviour programs to schools and social service organizations. In October 2023, the Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports received a grant from the U.S. Department of Education of more than $21 million to continue its work through 2028.

PBIS is a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) with three tiers. Tier 1 is intended for all students and emphasizes modelling, teaching, and acknowledging positive social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) skills. Tier 2 focuses on supporting students who are at risk for developing more serious unwanted behaviors before they start.

PBIS states their framework is “an effective way to address sometimes dangerous, often highly disruptive behaviors creating barriers to learning and excluding students from social settings.” At Tier 3, students purportedly receive more intensive, individualized support to improve their behavioral and academic outcomes.

PBIS claims “Tier 3 strategies work for students with developmental disabilities, autism, emotional and behavioral disorders, and students with no diagnostic label at all”. Clearly I have strongly differing opinions on this, and will use research to defend my position here and in the articles to come.