SWPBIS Assessment of District Capacity (ADC)
Sugai, Anderson & Horner, 2011
Implementation of School-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and
Supports (SWPBIS) involves active district investment in organizational systems,
data systems, and policies in addition to specific practices used in the school
building. The purpose of the ADC is to provide district leadership teams (and their
technical assistance providers) with an efficient self-assessment of the key features
that a district (or regional) unit can be expected to provide if schools are to
implement SWPBIS with (a) high fidelity, (b) all three tiers of intensity, and (c)
sustainability.
The ADC is completed by a district leadership team quarterly or annually
with support from an implementation coach. The summary score, sub-scale scores
and item summary are intended for use in the development of an action plan
detailing steps the team will do to improve the capacity of the district to support
SWPBIS implementation. District teams are encouraged to focus initially on the
elements needed for Tier I implementation, and then add the supplemental
elements needed for effective implementation of Tier II and Tier III supports.
0-not in place; 1-somewhat in place; 2-fully in place
District Leadership Team
Tier I
1.1.Individuals who can make policy and programmatic decisions attend
and participate in majority of meetings.
2.2.Team has authority and autonomy for decision and policy making.
3.3.Team meets at least monthly.
4.4.Team has an active action plan for implementation of Tier I of
SWPBIS.
Tiers II, III
5. Individuals who can make policy and programmatic decisions attend
and participate in majority of meetings.
6. Team has active authority to implement Tier II and Tier III SWPBIS
practices.
7. Team meets at least monthly
8. Team has an active action plan for implementation of Tiers II, III of
SWPBIS.
District Coordination
Tier I
9. District coordinator for SWPBIS identified with adequate FTE.
Tiers II, III
10. District coordinator for implementation of Tier II and Tier III
identified with adequate FTE.
District Policy
Tier I
11. Student social behavior defined in policy as a primary goal of district.
SCORE
12. District has a written policy commitment to use of evidence-based
practices.
13. District policy commitment to collection and use of data for decisionmaking
14. Clearly defined district-improvement goals
Tiers II, III
15. District commitment in policy to supporting all students, including
those with more significant support needs
Personnel Selection
Tier I
16. District hiring practices note expectation that applicants are
knowledgeable and experienced in school-wide systems of academic
and behavior support.
Tiers II, III
17. District positions established to train, coach and deliver functionbased behavior support.
18. Each school has the personnel capacity to conduct basic functional
behavioral assessment
19. Each school has personnel to facilitate team-based problem solving.
20. Each school has access to a district coach who can guide on-site
implementation and adaptation of evidence-based behavioral and
academic supports
Professional Development and Training
Tier I
21. District provides annual orientation to new faculty, families, and
administrators about district policies and expectations for
implementation of school-wide systems of academic and behavior
support.
22. District provides training (professional development) in
implementation of evidence-based practices of academic and
behavior support consistent with school-improvement and districtimprovement plans.
Tiers II, III
23. District provides training to district and school behavior support
personnel on evidence based Tier II interventions including (a)
evidence-based interventions, (c) systems for implementing Tier II,
and (d) progress monitoring techniques for Tier II.
24. District provides training to district and school behavior support
personnel on (a) functional behavioral assessment, (b) behavior
support plan design, (c) behavior support plan implementation, (c)
behavior support plan evaluation and adaptation.
Team Coaching
Tier I
25. District provides coaching to support implementation of all
evidence-based support practices following initial training.
Tiers II, III
26. District provides coaching to support implementation of Tier II and
Tier III behavior support practices (e.g. CICO, Function-based
support).
Personnel Performance Feedback
Tier I
27. Annual faculty and administrator evaluations include assessment of
the extent to which Tier I behavior support practices have been
implemented with fidelity.
Tiers II, III
28. Annual faculty and administrator evaluations include assessment of
the extent to which Tier II and Tier III behavior support practices
have been implemented with fidelity.
Selection of Educational Practices
Tier I
29. District actively encourages and supports selection of academic and
behavior support practices that are (a) evidence-based, (b) practical
and efficient, (c) include formal professional development
procedures, (d) include formal fidelity measures, and (e) include
active procedures for continuous improvement
30. District provides a coordinated structure to avoid duplication and
conflict in initiative investment.
31. District preference for multi-tiered approaches to academic and
behavior support that emphasize prevention systems.
Tiers II, III
32. Tier II and Tier III supports are (a) evidence-based, (b) practical and
efficient, (c) include formal professional development procedures,
(d) include formal fidelity measures, and (e) include active
procedures for continuous improvement
33. Tier II and Tier III supports avoid duplication and resource
competition
Evaluation
Tier I
34. District leadership team (and senior administration) receives at
least annual summaries of fidelity data related to implementation of
evidence-based practices and systems.
35. District leadership team (and senior district administration)
receives at least annual summaries of the student outcomes related
to academic and behavior.
36. District provides all schools with valid and reliable measures and
process for collecting and using universal screening for academic
and behavior support. (e.g. SSBD, DIBELS)
37. District provides all schools with valid and reliable measures and
process for collecting and using progress monitoring data relevant
to academic and behavior supports. (e.g. DIBELS, Easy CBM, SWIS)
38. District provides all schools with a valid and reliable process for
assessing implementation fidelity for evidence-based practices
(e.g. SET, TIC, BoQ)
Tiers II, III
39. District leadership team (and schools) receive at least annual
summaries of fidelity data regarding implementation of Tiers II, III
interventions and systems
40. District leadership team monitors outcomes of students receiving
Tiers II, III supports (e.g., ODR patterns, out of district placement,
referrals or special education)
41. District provides schools with valid, reliable and efficient measures
of Tier II intervention effectiveness (e.g. attendance, academic
progress, DIEBLS, CICO points)
42. District provides schools with valid, reliable and efficient measures
of Tier III intervention effectiveness (e.g. DIBELS, ISIS)
Scoring
Tier I
Tiers II, III
Tier I
Tiers II, III
District Team
Leadership
/16
/16
District
Coordination
/4
/4
District Policy
/16
/4
Personnel
Selection
/4
/16
Professional Team
Personnel
Selection Evaluation
Dev. &
Coaching Performance of Ed.
Training
& Feedback Practices
/8
/4
/4
/12
/20
/8
/4
/4
/8
/16
Overall Scores
Tier I
Tiers II, III
/78
/80
Districts are ready to begin implementation of Tiers II, III if they score 80% or
higher on Tier I.
Districts are implementing Tiers I, II, and III with capacity if they score 80% or
higher on Tier I and Tiers II, III