Behavior Services

This session is designed for school-based professionals involved in the development and implementation of Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs) and Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs), including special education teachers, behavior specialists, school psychologists, and administrators. Participants will have the opportunity to assess the fidelity of their current FBAs and BIPs, engage in guided reflection, and consult with experts to enhance the effectiveness of their behavior support practices.

TRIAD offers tailored support for educator teams working with individual students who exhibit dangerous or challenging behaviors. These services are designed to align with the team’s needs, preferences, and capacity.

Key Components:

• Root Cause Analysis: TRIAD consultants guide teams through identifying underlying issues contributing to the student’s behavior. This includes:
  
  • Reviewing the student’s Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) and Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP)
  • Defining behavioral goals: Focus areas may include reducing unsafe behaviors, minimizing the use of restraint or isolation, and promoting student autonomy and engagement with learning.
  • Exploring causes of behaviors that impact safety and learning
• Data-Based Decision Making: TRIAD supports teams in:
  
  • Creating a customized data collection system
  • Analyzing behavioral data
  • Using data to inform and adjust intervention strategies

The ultimate goal is to improve student outcomes through informed, responsive, and individualized support.

The purpose of the BCBA Community of Practice is to create an interactive, collaborative space for school-based BCBAs to share resources, provide support to one another while navigating through school cases and to connect BCBAs to one another across the state of Tennessee. The topics covered in this group are dictated by the members’ current interest and needs with an emphasis on most effective practices for working in the school system.

Participant Requirements

1. Currently working as a school based BCBA in a Tennessee school
2. Currently supervising BCBAs in Tennessee schools
3. Working towards your BCBA, and employed as a school-based professional to support students with challenging behavior, including designing and implementing FBAs and BIPs.

Format
Group meets once a month online to discuss specifics related to working as a school-based BCBA in Tennessee.

The Behavior Leadership Webinar Series provides a professional development community for school- and district-level staff who serve in administrative, consultative, or leadership roles with respect to student behavior. The goal of the webinar series is to create a space that fosters awareness, growth, and collaboration for leaders who serve or support others in serving students with exceptional behavior needs. Each webinar session will have a topic of focus, featured expert and practitioner panelists, and many opportunities to ask questions and engage in discussion.

Topics for the 2025-2026 series will include:

• Trauma-Informed FBAs and BIPs
• TRIAD Autism's School Partnerships for Building Capacity
• Including Families in Behavior Supports
• Outside Applied Behavior Analysis Providers
• Medical Underlying Causes of Behavioral Issues

Archived Webinars

The Educator Community of Practice (CoP) provided by the TRIAD Intensive Behavior team is a professional learning community that fosters growth and collaboration for teachers, behavior specialists, administrators, and other staff who serve students with complex behavior needs. For the 25-26 school year, each monthly meeting will provide training and collaborative troubleshooting on a different behavior intervention. Participants will learn how to implement and intensify various interventions including Functional Communication Training, Co-regulation, Point Sheets, Skill-based Treatment, and more. If you have been wondering how to implement or how to coach others to implement the interventions on your students’ Behavior Intervention Plans, this community is for you!

The TRIAD Intensive Behavior Back to School Event was a virtual professional development opportunity for educators across the State of Tennessee. The recorded sessions are available to watch now.

Session 1: Training School Staff to Implement Behavior Plans with High Fidelity
Preparing school-team members to implement Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs) with fidelity is a challenging but essential component of student support. This one-hour workshop equipped participants to develop staff training plans that are efficient, effective, and compliant with State requirements.

Session 2: Trauma Informed FBAs and BIPs
This session discussed signs of trauma in school-aged children and how trauma history can impact students’ behavior at school. The values of Trauma Informed Care (TIC) were explored including safety, empowerment, skill-building, collaboration, relationship-building, and family/community.

This workshop is designed to teach attendees how to identify when a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) or Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) needs to be re-evaluated and how to do so effectively. A variety of alternative assessments will be presented, and participants will have the opportunity to practice analyzing data to make changes to components of a BIP in order to avoid common pitfalls.

Objectives:

1. Assess existing FBA and BIP data to identify problematic areas
2. Prioritize additional questions to answer with novel assessment techniques
3. Weigh strategies to individualize or intensify behavior interventions to support student needs.

Enrollment is open to Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), school psychologists, and individuals who have submitted an FBA and corresponding BIP and received a score of at least 8 out of 10 on the FBA and corresponding BIP. To submit your documents, please visit the FBA/BIP Quick Consult page via this link.

November 13, 2025: Jackson TN, 8:30-4:00 CST
November 19, 2025: Knoxville, TN, 8:30-4:00 EST
November 21, 2025: Nashville, TN, 8:30-4:00 CST

If you have questions, please reach out to DeeDee Whitehead, at deedee.whitehead@vumc.org

This 46 minute video provides an opportunity for viewers to

• Examine the State Board of Education FBA and BIP requirements
• Investigate the components of an FBA compliant with Tennessee regulations
• Distinguish the components of a BIP complaint with Tennessee regulations

This 32 minute video provides an opportunity for viewers to

• Distinguish between baseline data collection options available for a compliant FBA within the state of Tennessee
• Critique a sample FBA using rubric on data collection metric
• Judge sample FBA using rubric regarding systematic observation

This 24 minute video provides an opportunity for viewers to

• Examine SMART goals within a BIP
• Critique a sample BIP using rubric on replacement behavior
• Evaluate a progress monitoring plan to make decisions and adjustments to intervention

• Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) Tip Sheet for Caregivers
• State Board Rules for FBA/BIPs
• Functional Behavior Assessment Summary Sheet - Template (Word version)
• Behavior Intervention Plan - Template
• Self-Assessment Rubric
• Functional Behavior Assessment Review
• Skill Deficit Impact on Behavior
• Data-Based Decision Guide for Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs)
• BIP Fidelity Sheet with Rating Scale and Task Analysis
• BIP Fidelity Sheet with Rating Scale and Task Analysis (Word version)
• Implementation Fidelity
• Data Analysis Benchmark Template
• Basic Behavior Interventions Menu

This 14 minute video includes an overview of why intervening early in the cycle of escalation to de-escalate challenging behavior is an ideal approach.

• AAC and Restraint and Isolation
• Crisis Plan Template
• Refocusing a Group after Challenging Behavior
• Re-Entry to the Classroom Following Restraint or Isolation
• Shortened School Days and Informal Removals for Students with Disabilities

This 25 minute video provides learners an opportunity to

• Apply knowledge of common mental health concerns in IDD
• Analyze how some evidence-based mental health strategies could be used with students in their buildings
• Develop a preliminary plan to use select mental health resources with educators, students, and families

This 22 minute video provides learners an opportunity to

• Examine the intersection of trauma and intellectual and developmental disabilities
• Recommend basic trauma-informed strategies for use with students in schools
• Distinguish TRIAD’s approach to trauma-informed care

This 40 minute video provides views an opportunity to

• Recognize several of the common underlying reasons for challenging behavior in school.
• Follow a process for determining which underlying reasons for challenging behavior are most likely through an analysis process.

This 6 minute video provides viewers an opportunity to evaluate how the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) describes free and appropriate public education (FAPE) in regards to students engaging in severe challenging behavior.

• Replacement Behavior Data Sheet: Type of Prompt
• Replacement Behavior Data Sheet: Trial-By-Trial Data
• Systematic Observation: Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence (ABC) Recording Form
• Adult-Led Time
• Child-Led Time
• Considerations for IEP Teams: Does a student's behavior impact learning?
• Evidence Based Practices for Behavior
• Home and School Collaboration
• Communication with families for paraprofessionals
• Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) Tip Sheet
• Intervention Planning Guide - Asking for Help (Click to download to your computer)
• Intervention Planning Guide - Template (Click to download to your computer)
• Intervention Planning Guide - First Then Sample
• Intervention Planning Guide - Frequent Breaks Sample
• Intervention planning - Noncontingent Attention (NCA)
• Intervention Planning Guide - Individual Schedule
• Noncontingent Reinforcement
• Intervention Planning Guide - Waiting for Help (Click to download to your computer)
• Underlying Causes of Challenging Behavior
• Universal Protocols

This 52 minute video provides information specific to Manifestation Determination Reviews

• Change of Placement
• The MDR Process
• Zero Tolerance Offenses and Interim Alternative Educational Settings
• MDRs for Non-IDEA Students
• Prior Written Notices

• Manifestation Determination Interview (Click to download to your computer)
• Manifestation Determination Review File Review
• Manifestation Determination Review File Review EXAMPLE
• Manifestation Determination Review File Review EXAMPLE without a BIP
• Manifestation Determination Review: Tips for Caregivers
• Shortened School Day and Information Removals for Students with Disability
• Manifestation Determination Review: Tips for Educators