Office discipline referrals (ODRs) are widely used by school personnel to evaluate student behavior and the behavioral climate of schools. In this article, the authors report the results of a review of the relevant literature to evaluate the validity of ODR data as indices of school-wide behavioral climate, the effects of school-wide behavioral interventions, and differing behavior support needs across schools. They used Messick's unified approach to validity by focusing on examples of evidence for empirical and ethical foundations of interpretations, uses, and social consequences of ODR measures at the school-wide level. The authors also discuss ongoing issues, study limitations, and related recommendations for interpretations and uses of ODR measures as school-wide indices, based on the existing literature.

Within the context of widely documented racially disproportionate discipline outcomes, we describe schoolwide positive behavior support (SWPBS) as one approach that might provide a useful framework for culturally responsive behavior support delivery. We conceptualize cultural and linguistic diversity as the result of a divergence between individual students’ and entire schools’ cultural identities and identify culturally responsive educational practices that might facilitate greater continuity between students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and school environments. Based on practical recommendations derived from the literature, we propose an expansion of the key features of SWPBS implementation (practices, data, systems, and outcomes) to facilitate culturally responsive behavior support delivery. We propose (a) systemically promoting staff members’ cultural knowledge and self-awareness, (b) commitment to culturally relevant and validating student support practices, and (c) culturally valid decision making to enhance culturally equitable student outcomes. We provide recommendations for future research and present the efforts of one school district to blend SWPBS implementation with training in cultural responsiveness.

The goal of the three-tiered response-to-intervention (RtI) model is to catch students who are at risk early and to provide an appropriate level of intervention. Although RtI has been recommended for academic and social behavior, to date there has been little discussion about the differences associated with implementing RtI across these domains. The purpose of this article is to compare similarities and differences in RtI for academic and social behavior. In addition, some of the primary challenges associated with the implementation of RtI for social behavior are discussed. Examples of how RtI has been implemented with social behavior are provided along with recommendations for future research.

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This study examined disciplinary exclusion data from 77 schools implementing school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS). The authors examined (a) patterns of exclusion in schools implementing SWPBS; (b) associations between decreased exclusions and SWPBS implementation at the whole school level, the classroom level, the nonclassroom level, and the individual student level; (c) the extent to which students from varying ethnicities were equitably represented in overall exclusions as well as long-term exclusions; and (d) the extent to which students with a disability from varying ethnicities were equitably represented in long-term exclusions. Whereas SWPBS implementation in the classroom appeared to be associated with decreased exclusions in elementary schools, SWPBS implementation in nonclassroom settings appeared to be associated with decreased exclusions in high schools. Although overall exclusions decreased, White students appeared to benefit most from this decrease, whereas African American students remained overrepresented in exclusions, in particular long-term exclusions. Small sample sizes limited generalizability of outcomes.