A Quasi-Experimental Design Analysis of the Effects of School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports on Discipline in Florida

Abstract

During the 2011-2012 school year, almost 3.4 million elementary and secondary students in the United states received at least one in-school suspension (ISS), whereas 3.1 million received at least one out-of-school suspension (OSS; Snyder, de Brey, & Dillow, 2016). Nearly one quarter of a million students engaged in behaviors that resulted in referrals to law enforcement, and more than 64,000 students were arrested for acts that occurred on school grounds or during off-campus school activities such as transportation. In addition, over 166,000 students were disciplined with corporal punishment despite it being outlawed in public schools in 31 states. Further analysis of these actions reveals disproportionate disciplinary consequences among races/ethnicities and students with disabilities (SWD). Black students were more likely to receive most of the disciplinary actions compared with other races/ethnicities. Hispanic and American Indian/Alaska Native students were also generally more likely to be disciplined than White students. While SWD received almost 2 times the number of in-school and OSSs than their typically developing peers. These outcomes are consistent with previous research (

Updating and expanding systematic reviews and meta‐analyses on the effects of school‐wide positive behavior interventions and supports

“…Sixteen studies reporting outcomes in the behavior domain included suspensions (ISS and OSS) and nine studies included ODRs. Other behaviors outcomes included corporal punishment, expulsion, referral to law enforcement, school‐related arrest (e.g., Gage, Grasley‐Boy, Peshak George, Childs, & Kincaid, ; Grasley‐Boy et al, ), bullying and peer rejection (Gage, Rose et al ; Waasdorp et al, ), and emotional disturbance eligibility (Porter, ). Most studies reported proportions of students with a behavior outcome (e.g., OSS), while two studies used the TOCA‐checklist (TOCA‐C; Koth, Bradshaw, & Leaf, ).…”

“…Although the current review found promising effects of SWPBIS across all three outcomes, only a few reported outcomes for specific population groups (e.g., minority students) or outcomes at the student level. Four studies (Gage, Grasley‐Boy, et al, ; Grasley‐Boy et al, ; Mozley, ; Porter, ) addressed differential effects of SWPBIS on particular groups of students, including students with disabilities (Gage, Grasley‐Boy et al, ), students identified for emotional disturbance (Porter, ), and African American students (Gage, Grasley‐Boy et al, ; Grasley‐Boy et al, ; Mozley, ). In particular, Gage, Grasley‐Boy et al () found significantly fewer OSS for students with disabilities and African American students in schools implementing SWPBIS compared with students in comparison schools.…”

“…Other behaviors outcomes included corporal punishment, expulsion, referral to law enforcement, school-related arrest (e.g., Gage, Grasley-Boy, Peshak George, Childs, & Kincaid, 2018;, bullying and peer rejection (Gage, Rose et al 2019;, and emotional disturbance eligibility (Porter, 2012). Most studies reported proportions of students with a behavior outcome (e.g., OSS), while two studies used the TOCAchecklist (TOCA-C; .…”

Using Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports to Reduce School Suspensions

“…For example, Gage, Lee, et al (2018) examined the impact of PBIS on suspensions in schools in Georgia and found significantly fewer in- and out-of-school suspensions for schools implementing PBIS with fidelity. The results for out-of-school suspensions have also been replicated in Florida (Gage, Grasley-Boy, et al, 2018) and in California (Grasley-Boy et al, 2019). It is also noteworthy that these studies found that schools implementing PBIS with fidelity had fewer out-of-school suspensions for vulnerable groups of students, including Black students and students with disabilities (see Gage, Grasley-Boy, et al, 2018).…”

“…Research indicates that implementing PBIS with fidelity can have a significant and meaningful impact on reducing suspensions (Gage, Grasley-Boy, et al, 2018; Gage, Lee, et al, 2018). Although no universal scale-up support program exists, schools in every state have access to some level of training support through partners with the OSEP Technical Assistance Center.…”