Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports in Special Ed

How Special Education Professionals Use Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports

Written by: Wilson College • Jul 16, 2026

A Special Education Teacher Helps a Student With a Puzzle.

The Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports framework provides a way for educators to take a proactive approach to teaching students positive behaviors and preventing future behavioral challenges. While educators across the school community use these positive behavioral supports in the classroom, special education professionals are uniquely positioned to benefit from this type of tool.

Earning a master’s in special education can help educators effectively implement a positive behavioral framework with their students.

What Is Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports?

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, also known as PBIS, is a research-based framework used to improve students’ outcomes through positive interventions. Educators employing PBIS set clear behavior expectations for their students and encourage them to engage in desired behavior.

The PBIS framework has three tiers:

Tier 1: Universal supports are provided to all students at a school. These school-wide and inclusive strategies contribute to a welcoming school culture, and can include social and emotional skill building lessons, classroom routines, and positive reinforcement.
Tier 2: Targeted supports are provided to students at a higher risk of developing behavioral problems. Strategies for these students can include small group lessons in skills improvement, mentoring programs, or counseling check-ins.
Tier 3: Intensive and individualized supports are provided to an estimated 1% to 5% of the school’s population. Strategies for these students can include behavior support plans or functional behavioral assessments.

Special education professionals can customize the PBIS framework for their students with disabilities. School-wide supports in Tier 1 prioritize accessibility for all students. Tier 2 provides targeted supports that can align with the services provided to special education students as described in their individualized education programs (IEPs), legal documents that outline the mandated accommodations and supports for each student who requires special education. Tier 3 often includes individualized assessments of special education students with intensive needs.

Positive behavioral supports in the classroom do not reduce or replace the IEP services that special education students receive. An IEP can require specific interventions for a student that are provided through the school-wide PBIS framework.

Benefits of PBIS in Special Education

PBIS aims to create inclusive, positive school cultures. Decades of research documented by the U.S. Department of Education’s Center on PBIS demonstrates the benefits of this approach for both students and teachers.

For example, in schools that use the PBIS framework, educators, students, and families see their school communities more positively. School-wide incidents of bullying decrease, unwanted behaviors decrease, and positive behaviors increase.

While PBIS is often adopted school-wide, the approach has specific benefits in special education, including improving the outcomes for students with disabilities. According to the Center on PBIS, “PBIS is the only approach specifically mentioned in the law for preventing exclusion, improving educational outcomes, and addressing the behavior support needs of students with disabilities.”

The following are benefits of applying PBIS in special education as described in the Center on PBIS research.

Schools that adopt PBIS incorporate social-emotional and behavioral (SEB) skill development into their curriculum. This helps students improve their ability to self-regulate and form positive peer relationships. Applying PBIS also results in higher levels of prosocial behavior among students, such as cooperation and compassion.

The emphasis on social and emotional learning also translates into improvements in students’ academic performance, engagement, and life outcomes.

Reduces Exclusionary Discipline

Adopting the PBIS approach school-wide leads to fewer student discipline referrals, fewer suspensions, and a lower expulsion rate. These types of exclusionary discipline disproportionately impact students with disabilities.

Using positive reinforcement and community-shaped behavioral expectations with students translates into a better school experience for all.

Boosts Students’ Academic Engagement

Instructional time increases in schools that adopt PBIS. Providing students with a healthy classroom environment that sets clear expectations for their behavior leads to less time spent addressing behavior issues and fewer exclusionary punishments that take students out of class.

These schools also find students have fewer concentration problems, an overall decrease in tardiness, and higher academic engagement.

Improves Teachers’ Outcomes

Behavioral management is an important skill for special education teachers .

Educators adopt the PBIS framework report improved teacher-student relationships, a more positive school climate, and a greater sense of safety. They also experience fewer instances of burnout.

How Educators Use PBIS in Special Education

How do special education professionals use positive behavioral supports in the classroom? The PBIS framework fosters a supportive, inclusive learning environment that addresses the needs of students with disabilities.

The following are some proactive strategies based on PBIS principles that special education teachers can use to support their students with special needs both academically and socially.

Creating Classroom Routines

When teachers provide their students with structured, predictable classroom routines, the students feel more secure at school. By designing class routines based on equity, teachers can ensure that all learners have the support they need to succeed.

Educators can also recognize their students’ good choices by building positive acknowledgments into their routines. Examples include verbal affirmations and physical gestures.

Lessening Behavioral Stressors

The proactive approach of PBIS encourages educators to identify their students’ specific stressors and lessen their impact. They can do this with strategies that include providing visual schedules that prepare students for transitions, offering students’ alternative seating options, or completing regular emotional check-ins with students.

Educators can also use role-playing and modeling to teach students the behaviors that are expected of them in the classroom. For example, students can practice interacting with their peers in a safe environment to develop appropriate social skills.

Reinforcing Positive Behavior

Consistent reinforcement of positive behavior is a key principle of PBIS. Educators can provide students with specific praise to boost their motivation and encourage them to make appropriate choices. They also can create reward systems that recognize and reinforce students’ positive behaviors.

The PBIS framework focuses on instruction rather than punishment. When they are correcting their students’ behavioral problems, educators can use language that emphasizes improvement and redirects students toward the desired behavior.

Customizing PBIS Practices

Special education professionals tailor their lessons to meet the needs of individual students. Similarly, they can customize PBIS practices for each student.

Differentiated instruction is a core practice in special education. By aligning PBIS supports with the goals in their students’ IEPs, educators gain another avenue to help their students succeed.

Using Peer Mentoring

Educators can use peer mentoring programs to encourage their students to interact socially with each other and give them opportunities to model appropriate classroom behavior. These programs also give students a sense of agency in their school communities.

Research published in Frontiers in Education found that peer mentoring programs have positive impacts on students with learning disabilities, including improved emotional well-being, better communication skills, and higher self-esteem.

Earn a Master of Special Education at Wilson College Online

Educators ready to enhance their skills in addressing the needs of different learners should consider the benefits of enrolling in the Master of Special Education program at Wilson College Online.

Designed with a flexible online schedule for working teachers, the program helps educators build the expertise they need to work as a special education teacher or administrator. It offers lessons in assessing and analyzing classroom and behavioral management practices for students with disabilities, including proactive strategies that align with PBIS. The curriculum also offers coursework on research-based methods for fostering effective classroom cultures.

Find out how Wilson College Online can help you succeed in a career in special education.

Recommended Readings

How to Create an Inclusive Classroom

Special Education Career Path

Understanding the Needs of Diverse Learners in the Classroom

Sources:

Ablespace, “Guide to PBIS for Students With IEPs”

Center on PBIS, “Students With Disabilities”

Center on PBIS, “Why Implement PBIS?”

Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, “What Does the Research Say?”

Council for Exceptional Children, Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS)

Frontiers in Education, “Peer Mentoring for Students With Learning Disabilities: The Importance of Shared Experience on Students’ Social and Emotional Development”