Evaluating a Statewide Training Model to Promote High-Quality Functional Behavior Assessments and Behavior Intervention Plans

Abstract

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2004) mandates that schools conduct and implement functional behavior assessments (FBAs) and behavior intervention plans (BIPs) for students with disabilities who exhibit challenging behavior. However, IDEA does not provide guidance on required FBA/BIP components or practitioner qualifications. Evaluations of post-IDEA FBA/BIPs have reported poor technical adequacy (i.e., missing and/or improperly executed components) and emphasized an urgent need for high-quality practitioner training in FBA/BIP procedures. In partnership with a state-funded training and technical assistance team, we used a pre-post design first to describe pre-training levels of practitioner knowledge and FBA/BIP technical adequacy, and then to evaluate effects of a statewide multi-component training series designed to prepare a variety of school practitioners to create technically adequate, legally compliant FBA/BIPs. Training participants included 104 practitioners representing 79 of 147 school districts across the state of Tennessee. Training components included asynchronous online modules, a 1-day in-person workshop, and follow-up webinars and office hours. Outcome measures included a 25-question applied knowledge assessment and a scoring protocol that was applied to de-identified FBA/BIPs submitted by training participants. Prior to training, we detected modest levels of practitioner knowledge and concerning levels of FBA/BIP technical adequacy. Following training, we observed statistically significant increases in both knowledge and technical adequacy, with gains extending across all FBA/BIP components and participant professional roles. Results suggest the feasibility and efficacy of comprehensive FBA/BIP training and the particular value of document templates.