1. An FBA is legally required for all students exhibiting behavior problems at school. False. We would ALL be doing FBAs ALL the time!

2. An FBA is legally required for all students receiving special education services who exhibit behavior problems at school. False. However, the student’s status as an identified child with a disability is one of the factors that may (in conjunction with other factors) trigger an FBA.

3. An FBA is legally required for all students receiving special education services who have at least one behavior goal included in their IEP. False. A student may have one or more behavior goals and not require an FBA, so long as the team is able to provide the necessary services to meet the child’s behavioral needs.

4. 4.An FBA is legally required for all students receiving special education who demonstrate a “pattern” of problem behavior. False. However, if the pattern of behavior is resulting in a “series of removals from the educational setting that constitute a pattern… because the series of removals total more than 10 school days in a school year”, an FBA is required by IDEA. [Final Regulations, 34 C.F.R. § (2006)]

5. 5. An FBA is legally required as part of the Manifestation Determination process. False. This WAS the case until IDEA was reauthorized in Now, the outcome of the Manifestation Determination helps determine the necessity of an FBA. a) If the problem behavior WAS the result of the student’s disability, an FBA must be conducted if not done so previously. If an FBA has already been done, the team should review the BIP for adequacy. (20 U.S.C. § 1415(k)(1)(F) (2004) b) If the problem behavior was NOT the result of the student’s disability, an FBA should be conducted “as appropriate” (20 U.S.C. § 1415(k)(1)(D) (2004).

6. So, you're basically saying that I technically never have to do an FBA, right? False again! While IDEA stipulates only a few situations legally requiring an FBA, state regulations and "best practices" add more. An FBA can give you the tools to correctly match behavior interventions to problem behavior. So, when you have: a) problem behavior, requiring the need for b) behavior interventions, why not do an FBA?

Three Situations When a FBA is Conducted 1. 1.An FBA may be conducted for any child/youth with a behavior concern in order to best understand the purpose/function of behavior and develop an effective support plan. This includes children/youth that are: [41.530] a. a.Receiving an intervention through a general education intervention process b. b.Being considered for special education

Three Situations When a FBA is Conducted 2. 2.An FBA should be conducted for any eligible child/youth with a behavioral concern in order to develop an effective behavioral goal and/or behavior intervention plan (BIP)

Three Situations When a FBA is Conducted 3. 3.An FBA must be conducted for any child/youth with an IEP who faces specific disciplinary actions that would result in removal for: a. a.More than ten consecutive school days b. b.More than ten school days for separate incidents of behavior that constitute a pattern (see discipline section for specific information about when a FBA must be conducted, pg. 194 – 206)

Thinking Functionally The underlying philosophy of any FBA process is “thinking functionally,” or identifying the purpose (function) of why a student is exhibiting a specific behavior of concern. The severity of the behavior of concern will determine the level of intensity of the FBA.   We should ‘think functionally’ when developing behavioral programming for ANY and ALL kids.   However, a formalized FBA is generally a Tier 3 level of support/assessment.