Analysis of Disproportionality in Discipline and the Effects of Positive Behavior Supports Within Special Education

<p>Nationwide, school districts are required (IDEA, 2004) to implement positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) for all students receiving special education services. These PBIS are reported to reduce problem behaviors and increase prosocial behaviors when implemented with fidelity (Crone et al., 2015). With a reduction of problem behaviors an expected reduction of discipline referrals should follow along with a reduction in days spent in exclusionary discipline for students in special education. Reducing days in exclusionary discipline is desired due to a strong research base linking the practice to several negative outcomes (Marchbanks et al., 2015) along with data demonstrating these negative outcomes are disproportionally experienced by minority and disabled students (DOE, 2018). The goal of the current study was to: 1) describe the discipline practices of a school district for students in special education, and 2) analyze the effectiveness of Tier 3 PBIS in reducing exclusionary discipline for students in special education. It was hypothesized that students receiving Tier 3 PBIS and students with more accurate behavior intervention plans (BIPs) would spend fewer days in exclusionary discipline. Results demonstrated that Black and ED students were at the highest risk for receiving exclusionary discipline and that students in special education receiving any Tier 3 PBIS spent more days in exclusionary discipline than students who did not receive Tier 3 PBIS. However, students with accurate BIPs did spend fewer days in exclusionary discipline. </p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy - School Psychology

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Human Services

Year dc:date.available

2021

Author dc:creator

• Ruby, Cutler T.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Dr. Daniel McCleary
• Dr. Nina Ellis-Hervey
• Dr. Jaime Flowers

• discipline
• special education
• positive behavior interventions and supports
• School Psychology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/397

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarworks.sfasu.edu:etds-1427