2016 TASH Conference

The purpose of this study was to complete a contemporary analysis of commonly used schoolwide positive behavior supports (SWPBS) evaluation tools and their direct and implicit inclusion of students with significant disabilities. Students with significant disabilities tend to have little access to SWPBS, and we completed this study as a way to understand how students with significant disabilities may be considered in the evaluation portion of SWPBS. SWPBS has been successful in reducing or preventing problem behaviors for students across the country as well as other positive outcomes, including improved academic achievement, school attendance, and social competence (Sugai, Simonsen, Bradshaw, Horner, & Lewis, 2014). Given the potential of SWPBS to reduce or prevent problem behaviors and improve academic achievement, this was an important investigation because components of SWPBS may directly or indirectly support students with significant disabilities to be included in general education classrooms and in their school community. In this study, we identified the most commonly cited SWPBS evaluation tools in the literature between 2010 and 2016. Next, the evaluation tools were analyzed for their purposeful inclusion of students with significant disabilities. Findings revealed that the tools emphasize all staff and all students when describing ƒ??behind the scenesƒ? aspects of SWPBS. However, language in the tools make allowances, such as ƒ??most studentsƒ? when describing the implementation SWPBS that directly impact students, thus creating loopholes that may inadvertently permit the exclusion of learners with the most significant disabilities from fully participating in, and benefitting from, SWPBS efforts.