About Positive Behavior Support (PBS)

The school-wide PBS in Iowa is defined as a philosophy and practice of recognizing the importance of positive relationships among all members of a school community for the purpose of enhancing learning.
PBS emphasizes prevention, active instruction, and research-validated practices for:
a) establishing and teaching clear expectations for all students in all settings;
b) establishing and teaching clear expectations for all staff;
c) modeling and rewarding these expectations;
d) helping schools staff, families, and community members understand and support the
diversity of students, including those students with the most intense support needs;
e) understanding the physical and social contexts of behavior;
f) using data to guide decisions regarding change.

PBS can be characterized as a systems-oriented approach because it views the school as a complex system capable of initiating, reinforcing and sustaining change.

This definition was prepared by the Iowa School-wide PBS Leadership Team, November 2003

Positive Behavior Supports (PBS) are a proactive behavior support system. It emphasizes a holistic
approach to lifestyle changes, systems change, and the value of consumers as collaborators. The
goals are to define, teach and support appropriate behaviors in a way that establishes a culture of competence within schools. Schools that implement school-wide systems of positive behavior support
focus on taking a team-based system approach and teaching appropriate behavior to all students in the school.

Schools that have been successful in building school-wide systems develop procedures to accomplish
the following:
• behavior expectations are defined
• behavior expectations are taught
• appropriate behaviors are acknowledged
• behavioral errors are corrected proactively
• program evaluations and adaptations are made by a team
• decisions are made based on timely data (SWIS)
• administrative support and involvement are active
• individual student support systems are integrated with school-wide discipline systems

PBS efforts in Iowa are being conducted in conjunction with the OSEP's Positive Behavioral
Interventions and Support Technical Assistance Center in Eugene, Oregon.

"The Center has been established by the Office of Special Education Programs, US
Department of Education to give schools capacity-building information and technical assistance
for identifying, adapting, and sustaining effective school-wide disciplinary practices. The Center
has two foci:
* Broad dissemination to schools, families, and communities about a technology of
school-wide positive behavioral interventions and support exists.
* Demonstrations at the level of individual students, schools, districts, and states that
school-wide positive behavioral interventions and support are feasible and effective."