Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Maryland
PBIS is a framework for enhancing the adoption and implementation of a continuum of
evidence-based interventions to achieve important academic and behavioral outcomes for all
students. It is a three-tiered model which follows the public health approach to prevention by
providing more intensive supports for students not responding adequately to a universal system
of support. PBIS provides systems for schools to design, implement, and evaluate effective
school-wide, classroom, non-classroom, and student-specific discipline plans. Implementation
of school-wide, universal PBIS aims to reduce disruptive behavior problems, enhance school
climate and create safer, more effective schools for ALL students by targeting staff behavior and
teaching students agreed upon behavioral expectations while promoting a shift from reactive
punitive practices to prevention and promotion of positive behavior. PBIS can be implemented in
any school level, type, or setting and is flexible to fit the school context.
PBIS focuses on the following concepts:
o Data-driven decision-making
o Continuum of intensive individual interventions
o Administrative leadership – Team-based implementation (systems that support
effective practices)
o Prevention
o Defining and teaching positive social expectations
o Acknowledging positive behavior
o Arranging consistent consequences for problem behavior
In Maryland, the PBIS Initiative is supported through a collaboration that includes the Maryland
State Department of Education, Sheppard Pratt Health System, and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg
School of Public Health. Maryland has the fifth highest number of PBIS schools and is
considered a national model for state-wide implementation. Eight hundred and twenty-one (821)
Maryland schools have been trained since 1999 and more than 500 behavioral support coaches
have been trained to assist in the implementation and maintenance of PBIS in Maryland schools.
Maryland’s success is built on a state and local school system infrastructure that has developed
over time. It has been an expectation that the state provide training and the Local Systems build
the capacity to support trained schools and coaches locally. These expectations are formalized in
a Standards and Procedures document which defines the make-up of a trained PBIS team, lists
the annual requirements for continuing as an active PBIS Maryland School, and describes the
annual three-tiered PBIS Maryland Recognition process for schools and school systems. This
formal structure supports the ongoing mission and principals of PBIS implementation in
Maryland.
PBIS Maryland “Special Schools”
Many students with disabilities have intensive needs and are being educated and
supported in non-public, alternative and residential school settings. PBIS Maryland identifies
these facilities as “Special Schools.” These schools receive targeted training, outreach and
support to foster positive academic, social, and behavioral development, to support at-risk
students in reaching their potential.
PBIS Maryland “Special Schools” include Maryland Association for Non-Public Special
Education Facilities (MANSEF) Schools, Orthodox Jewish Day Schools, and behavioral health
facilities focused on treatment and recovery.
What makes these schools “special?”
PBIS Special Schools serve children and youth with specific disabilities that need the structure
and support of a non-public educational setting. These schools have large numbers of special populations,
including students with specific learning disabilities, Autism, and Emotional Disabilities. Each of these
disabilities is characterized by significant academic, social, and behavioral challenges. Thus, PBIS
Special Schools have a great need for targeted (Tier II) and intensive (Tier III) interventions to meet the
unique needs of the students they serve.
What supports are offered to PBIS Special Schools?
There are 2 dedicated PBIS Special Schools Points of Contact (POCs). The primary
functions of the PBIS Special Schools POCs are to promote coordination, progress monitoring,
and training/technical assistance efforts for non-public and alternative settings in the adoption
and implementation of PBIS. The PBIS Special Schools Points of Contact are focused on:
 providing PBIS coaching and support for special education facilities in all local
school systems;
 improving communication with and amongst the Special Schools;
 recruiting new Special Schools (to ensure compliance with COMAR regulations
which state that MANSEF schools must implement a positive behavioral support
program); and
 providing enhanced training and technical assistance opportunities based on the
intensive needs of the Special Schools.
Implications of PBIS for Maintaining Students with Disabilities in the General Education Setting
PBIS implementation is vital in addressing academic, behavioral, and social challenges
and supporting youth with disabilities in the general education setting. Beyond universal (Tier I)
interventions, Tier II and Tier III interventions offer targeted and intensive strategies for positive
behavioral support that are instrumental in maintaining students with disabilities in their
community schools, rather than more restrictive educational placements (i.e. “Special Schools”).
The educators, families, specialists and service providers that comprise Individualized
Education Program (IEP) Teams which serve youth with disabilities in the general education
setting often struggle with issues related to behavior management and modification of curriculum
to accommodate students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment. A goal of the PBIS
Maryland Management Team is to provide targeted support and training (beyond universal
interventions) to local school system personnel to ensure that all students, including those with
disabilities, have equal access to the general educational curriculum and typically-developing
peers, to enable the highest level of academic progress and achievement that is commensurate
with each student’s cognitive ability. While each student’s unique needs and abilities must be
taken into consideration by the IEP team when making decisions about educational placement,
placement decisions are often made based on the limited capacity of the local education agency
to provide the appropriate supplementary aids and services necessary to support students with
disabilities in the least restrictive environment (LRE). Non-public special education facilities
have the capacity to provide a continuum of behavioral support services with varying levels of
intensity, which prompts many IEP teams to opt for non-public placement for the most
challenging students with disabilities. The PBIS Maryland Management Team is expanding the
availability of training and technical assistance opportunities for local school systems to adopt
Tier II interventions to meet the needs of students who need more intensive behavioral support,
thus enhancing the menu of behavior support options available to IEP teams to employ for youth
with disabilities. These targeted and intensive supports may improve outcomes and result in the
diversion of many students with disabilities from referral to more restrictive educational
placements.