Interventions for Equity in School Discipline: Universal or Specific? Project ReACT Kent McIntosh University of Oregon

Support for this project: IES: NCSER (R324A170034) Goal 2: Development OSEP: Center on PBIS (H326S03002) Technical Assistance Center

Universality vs. Specificity Is good classroom management universally effective? School-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Which students are not being successful with current practice? What is needed to improve outcomes?

Disproportionality in School Discipline

Addressing Common Questions “Isn't it all really about poverty?” Poverty plays a role, but racial disproportionality remains, even when controlling for poverty Anyon et al., 2014 Skiba et al., 2002; 2005 Wallace et al., 2008

Addressing Common Questions “Aren’t Black boys just more violent?” No evidence of different base rates of behavior for any subgroups Bradshaw et al., 2010 Losen & Skiba, 2010 Skiba et al., 2014

Implicit Bias in Early Learning (Gilliam et al., 2016)

Implicit Bias in Early Learning (Gilliam et al., 2016)

Implicit Bias in Early Learning (Gilliam et al., 2016)

Are we seeing the same events completely differently?

U.S. Schools using PBIS August, 2017 25,911 schools 13,832,582 students

PBIS Implementation around the World

Statistically Significant Outcomes of PBIS Reduced problem behavior (Bradshaw, Mitchell, & Leaf, 2010; Flannery et al., 2014; Horner et al., 2005; Metzler et al., 2001; Nelson, 1996; Nelson et al., 2002) Increased prosocial behavior (Metzler, Biglan, Rusby, & Sprague, 2001; Nelson et al., 2002) Improved emotional regulation (Bradshaw et al., 2012) Improved academic achievement (Horner et al., 2009; Lassen, Steele, & Sailor, 2006; Nelson et al., 2002) Improved perceptions of school safety (Horner et al., 2009) Improved organizational health (Bradshaw et al., 2008)

Core Practices of School-wide PBIS Define school-wide expectations (i.e., social competencies) Teach and practice expectations Monitor and acknowledge prosocial behavior Provide instructional consequences for problem behavior Collect information and use it for decision-making

Is good classroom management universal?

Why use PBIS as a framework to enhance equity? Proactive, instructional approach may prevent problem behavior and exposure to biased responses to problem behavior Increasing positive student-teacher interactions may enhance relationships to prevent challenges More objective referral and discipline procedures may reduce subjectivity and influence of cultural bias Professional development may provide teachers with more instructional responses (Greflund et al., 2014)

Effects of PBIS on Discipline Disproportionality

Which PBIS Features are Most Predictive of Equity? Significant predictors of decreased disproportionality: Regular use of data for decision making (Tobin & Vincent, 2011) Implementation of classroom PBIS systems (Tobin & Vincent, 2011) Use of formal reward systems (Barclay, 2017; Tobin & Vincent, 2011)

How can we engineer universally supportive school cultures?

A 5-point Intervention Approach to Enhance Equity in School Discipline http://www.pbis.org/school/equity-pbis

5-point Intervention Approach Collect, use, and report disaggregated discipline data Implement a behavior framework that is preventive, multi-tiered, and culturally responsive Use engaging academic instruction to reduce the opportunity (achievement) gap Develop policies with accountability for disciplinary equity Teach strategies to neutralize implicit bias http://www.pbis.org/school/equity-pbis

Coercive Cycle of Inequities 2. Beh. Framewrk 3. Acad. Instruct. 2. Beh. Framewrk Setting event Antecedent Behavior Consequence Few positive interactions with adults School less relevant Academic failure, perceived slights, conflict with adults Student engages in unwanted or unexpected behavior Student sent to the office (escapes social interaction) 5. Implicit Bias 4. Policy 1. Use of Data

School-Wide Information System (www.swis.org)

Constructive Cycle of Increasing Equity Setting event Antecedent Behavior Consequence Many positive interactions with adults School more relevant Fewer experiences of academic failure, conflict with adults Student uses desired and functional social skills Adult responds instructionally to student behavior

Initial ReACT Results (McIntosh, Ellwood, McCall, & Girvan, 2018)

Initial Takeaways Universal behavior support interventions work…until they don’t work The principles appear to be universal…but one of the key principles is contextual fit Persistent racial disparities probably require racially-conscious interventions Data can help us define the challenge more precisely

Contact Information Kent McIntosh Special Education Program University of Oregon kentm@uoregon.edu @_kentmc Cannon Beach, Oregon © GoPictures, 2010 Handouts: http://www.pbis.org