10 Do’s and Don’ts of Behavioral Intervention Plans (BIP) at School

A behavior intervention plan (BIP), sometimes called a behavior support plan (BSP) depending on the school district, is a document that outlines the school’s responses to a student’s challenging behavior within a structured plan to support the child. A BIP is preferably developed based on the results of a functional behavior assessment (FBA), which looks at how the child’s behaviors may be adversely impacting their education and the experience of others in the classroom. A student with a 504 plan or an IEP might have a BIP.

Education advocate and BCBA-D Dr. Sarah Pelangka explains, “Within the educational setting, a behavior intervention plan (BIP) is a written plan designed to support school staff in knowing how to set up the student's environment to allow for success and independence, communicate strategies to help proactively prevent behaviors from occurring, and communicate reactive strategies so all staff are consistent in how behaviors are responded to.” It also includes behavioral goals and evidence-based strategies to help the child achieve those goals.

Although the goal of a BIP is to support the child and help them access their education, sometimes it’s seen by school staff as a plan for getting the child to eliminate problem behaviors that are disrupting class. Here are some tips for developing a truly supportive BIP and getting your school team on the same page.

Education advocate Kelly Rain Collin says that by engaging with the student’s behavior, the team is able to glean what led to it. “Why are they trying to get your attention? Are they trying to communicate a need? Are they having difficulty communicating that need? What need are they trying to communicate?”

She continues, “There’s a lot of deeper questions that I would want to ask. If the student’s avoiding a task, why are they avoiding that task? There’s a reason behind that, and it’s rarely, ‘I just don’t want to do it.’ There’s always something behind that. There’s a reason why that student doesn’t want to do it in that moment, or doesn’t feel like they’re engaged or connected.”

An FBA can help determine if the child could benefit from a behavioral intervention or support plan written into the IEP.

Some questions that parents should ask their child’s IEP team when considering a BIP are:

• Does the FBA truly investigate the causes of the behavior?
• Are the hypotheses offered about the cause tested? For example, if the psychologist says the behavior is caused by attention-seeking, does the child refrain from that behavior when given lots of attention?
• What are the antecedents or circumstances related to the behavior?
• What are some proactive supports that can be implemented to support the child’s needs before their behavior escalates?

Keep in mind that not only does an FBA identify behaviors, but it can also show the absence of them, or that behaviors are at a level consistent with non-disabled peers of the same age.

Keep in mind that our kids use behavior to communicate. Instead of focusing on eliminating a behavior, such as biting, consider that the function of the biting is communication — you don't want to eliminate that the child is communicating. A plan to eliminate biting is not going to be a goal about biting but a goal about communicating.

Dr. Sally Burton-Hoyle says, “Let's talk about their needs. And it cannot be something that the child shouldn't be doing,” she says. For example, “Instead of [focusing on reducing the] banging the head, what should that child be doing? Maybe playing with other kids? That's the positive behavioral support approach. Then banging his head: what does it mean? That means he's frustrated or it means he's lonely. Then the goal is around that, not reducing something.”

Dr. Pelangka explains, “A behavior intervention plan (BIP) provides functional equivalent replacement behaviors. These are goals that service the same function as the target/challenging behavior, which is very important for parents to be aware of. Schools cannot write goals that are the desirable response (e.g., ‘Instead of eloping, Bobby will remain in his seat and do his work’). Rather, schools should write goals that serve the same function as the behavior the student is currently engaging in (e.g., ‘Bobby will request help when provided with an assignment he perceives to be difficult, as evidenced by Bobby's sighing and putting his head down’).”

For children whose behavior may be a trauma response, the aim is not to modify or discourage the behavior coming from trauma, but to create a plan that reliably prevents the behavior from escalating.

A BIP outlines the supports and strategies that will be put in place to help the child use safer, more appropriate ways to get their needs met. It also describes what the child’s support team will do. A solid BIP should:

• List the common triggers or events that happen right before the behavior (also known as antecedents)
• Include strategies to change or avoid those triggers whenever possible
• Teach and reinforce replacement behaviors — what the child can do instead
• Include what to do if the behavior happens so that staff know how to respond calmly and consistently

As the team puts the plan together, families can share valuable insights about what their child enjoys, avoids, or reacts strongly to. All of this makes the plan more effective and more centered around what the child actually needs to feel safe, understood, and supported.

If the IEP decides it’s necessary, a behavioral aide may be included to provide support in the classroom. A behavior aide might provide coping strategies such as breathing techniques, emotional regulation, and positive behavioral supports. Depending on their training and qualification, an aide might also help with monitoring student behavior, taking notes, and providing insight into how the child can be better supported.

One important aspect of a behavior support plan might be ensuring that the child has a way to communicate other than with their behavior. For example, a school team could bring in assistive technology, pictures, stories, or communication devices and help the child learn how to use them so that they have options for making their needs known.

How can IEP goals around behavior be more neurodiversity-affirming, instead of trying to make a child "comply?" Dr. Pelangka tells us, “One of the biggest issues I see in school-based BIPs is deeming maladaptive behavior as a symptom of their disability. For example, a student has ADHD and the target behavior is ‘off task.’ But that is to be expected. Why would we write a plan with an expectation for the student to magically be on task? Even if the plan is written in such a way that they earn something rewarding for being on task, how do you think that student feels when they don’t meet their goal because they can’t as a direct result of their disability? That feels awful. BIPs should be written to support behaviors that are not a direct symptom of their disability. For [self-soothing behaviors], we can’t say, ‘Stop stimming,’ but IEP goals can be written to support skill deficits or giving the student strategies to help them increase more awareness to be on task more. If the student with ADHD is throwing things across the room, that can be addressed in the BIP, but not being off task.”

Not all behaviors that occur during class need to be reduced or eliminated. For example, teachers may say that stimming is disruptive, but if the stimming is helping the child focus or self-soothe, a behavior plan to eliminate it might be counterproductive.

Dr. Pelangka says, “I always try to work with teams on identifying if it’s even something that needs to have an intervention. Is it impeding learning? Is it impeding their quality of life? If the answer is no, then let’s move along. If the answer is yes, let’s look at ways to support [the student]. Let’s bring in the OT. Let’s talk about more communication.” Focusing on skill building and creating productive goals, rather than engaging in reactive redirections, she says, is much more effective at addressing maladaptive stimming and dysregulation.

Dr. Pelangka tells us, “Given the influx of self-advocates who have come out and shared their stories on ABA and how detrimental it’s been to them, I firmly believe it is imperative that we, as behaviorists, do a better job. The goal should not be aiming for ‘compliance,’ but rather, the goal should be aiming for acceptance. What I mean by that is the students' acceptance of the adult (teacher), the classroom, and the content being taught.” What does this look like? She gives us three examples:

1. Building and establishing rapport and trust with the student (acceptance of the teacher/adult).

2. Ensuring the classroom is a safe space for the student. This can be accomplished by embedding things that support the student (e.g. dim lighting, headphones, fidgets, preferred visuals on walls, etc.) and being willing to modify the room on an ongoing basis to meet the needs of the student (for example, if the classroom gets too loud).

3. Teaching to their level and ensuring access by way of accommodations and services. The student should have all of the services and supports they need to be most successful. “This sounds like a ‘duh,’” she says, “but I can’t tell you how many parents I come across who don’t even know they can ask for an assistive technology assessment for access to curriculum, not for AAC purposes. Or counseling, or recreation and leisure, etc. There are so many things accessible to students; they should be offered when needed.”

Often, when behaviors are present, there are other underlying deficits in place, such as communication deficits, underlying learning needs, sensory needs, etc.

For example, a student might have a learning disability in the area of orthographic processing, which directly impacts writing. “If the maladaptive behavior found is that a student engages in work refusal during writing tasks,” Dr. Pelangka says, “we shouldn’t be writing a behavior goal for the student to ‘complete writing tasks’ or ‘ask for a break during writing tasks.’ We should be focusing on what tools the student has to access writing, given they have a learning disability in the area of writing (e.g., assistive technology tools, access to a scribe, etc.).”

Parents can request an FBA as a means of better identifying the child’s needs and supports, including those impacted by a co-occurring diagnosis. Other professionals, including school and clinic providers, can provide insights as well.

For example, for students with OCD, maladaptive behavior is often better served by counseling than traditional BIP goals. A therapist who has experience in OCD should oversee the support plan.

Traditional BIP goals and interventions won’t serve children with complex trauma, especially if they have a developmental or intellectual disability. Behavior becomes, in many cases, a means of communication to express the child’s needs or emotions. Advocate Karen Yingling says, “A [BIP] should never be written to change a child’s behavior. If a kid from trauma needs attention, give it to them. We don’t have to feed the behavior, [but] we are not ignoring the child, ever.”

A small number of students with developmental disabilities may engage in severe behaviors that harm themselves or others. For those students, an FBA is essential to identify the function(s) of the behaviors and to support the development of a comprehensive behavior plan.

A BIP can also provide a degree of protection from potential punishment (though it’s not guaranteed), such as immediately being sent to a seclusion room, or it can help keep a child’s supports in place under extenuating circumstances, such as a day with a substitute teacher. A BIP helps identify how the school can better serve the individual needs of the student and thus help prevent the escalation of negative behaviors that may lead to discipline or a mandatory change of placement.

You can use positive behavior interventions and strategies at home to continue providing support. “When you teach your child the same behaviors that are taught at school and reinforce them at home, you are encouraging your child’s social and academic growth,” the PACER center explains.

If you need additional training to support your child’s behavior at home, parent training can be written into the IEP.

Make sure your child’s behavior plan is shared with all the adults on their care team so that everyone is on the same page.

Make sure the BIP is followed by everyone your child works with. Non-attorney education advocate Lisa Carey says that if a behavior is reinforced inappropriately, it can undo weeks or even months of hard work!

The important thing here is consistency — sometimes BIPs work so well that people start to ease off the support, thinking the problem is fixed, only for the behavior to come back because the support was removed. Even when your child makes progress, it's essential to keep that support in place.

Especially after a longer break, like winter or summer vacation, the IEP services, BIP, and providers might all need a refresh on the child’s evolving needs.

PBIS World has many example BIPs on their website to give school teams ideas for positive support strategies based on target behaviors.

Here’s an example BIP from Matrix Parents that presents data on different target behaviors, digs into the function of the behaviors, and presents redirection strategies. This example behavior support plan shows how different school team members can be responsible for collecting data and reinforcing replacement behaviors.

The PBIS Apps website has a behavior support plan template with a flow chart to help school teams think about replacement behaviors and timelines to teach them to the student.

Check out our article Behavior Goals in the IEP for more examples of neurodiversity-affirming and positive behavior support goals and strategies.