Positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) is a multi-tiered framework that promotes positive behaviors both in and out of the classroom. Instead of punitive measures of correction (i.e., punishing a student for disruptive behavior), PBIS focuses on preventative measures and positive reinforcement. Supports are divided into tiers, allowing schools and team members to apply targeted interventions to the unique needs of each tier.
In this article, we’ll review PBIS Tier 3, the most intensive of the PBIS framework. Only a small number of students need this highly personalized support, but the interventions are crucial to the success of the students in this category.
Understanding the PBIS tiers
PBIS uses a three-tiered framework to provide a continuum of support matched to students' needs. Here’s how the Center on PBIS describes the three tiers:
Tier 1: Universal support for all students
Tier 1 systems, data, and practices support everyone—students, educators, and staff—across all school settings. They establish a foundation for positive and proactive support. Tier 1 is robust, differentiated, and enables most students (80% or more) to experience success. At this level, schools collaborate with students and families to define positive expectations, explicitly teach those expectations, acknowledge expected behavior, and respond to unwanted behavior in a respectful, instructional manner.
Tier 2: Targeted support for some students
In addition to the Tier 1 foundation, about 10–15% of students will need Tier 2 supports—an added layer of systems, data, and practices targeting their specific needs. Tier 2 support is more focused than Tier 1 but less intensive than Tier 3. Students at this level receive additional instruction and practice for behavioral, social, emotional, and academic skills, along with increased adult support, supervision, and positive reinforcement.
Tier 3: Intensive, individualized support for a few students
A small number of students (1–5%) need Tier 3 supports because Tier 1 and Tier 2 have not been sufficient for them to experience success. At Tier 3, students receive more intensive, individualized support to improve their outcomes. Tier 3 supports are available to any student with intensive needs, whether they receive special education services or not.
What are PBIS Tier 3 interventions?
PBIS Tier 3 is designed to help students develop skills for emotional regulation, self-advocacy, and navigating challenges while also addressing the underlying needs driving their behavior. Like the rest of the PBIS framework, prevention is coupled with critical self-management skills.
Who receives Tier 3 interventions?
Tier 3 behavior interventions are for students who need individualized, comprehensive, and ongoing support. Students in Tier 3 have not responded to interventions in either Tier 1 or Tier 2, because supports in those tiers have not yet met their needs. Students receiving Tier 3 support may be experiencing significant challenges that have not been addressed through universal or targeted interventions. These challenges might stem from unmet needs, trauma, mental health concerns, or other factors that require individualized support.
Types of Tier 3 behaviors:
Students needing Tier 3 support may exhibit behaviors that indicate they need more intensive intervention. These behaviors often signal unmet needs and may include:
- Chronic social or emotional challenges
- Significant barriers to learning
- Ongoing office referrals for discipline
- Suspensions and other removals from the classroom
- Behaviors that suggest the need for crisis intervention or safety planning
- Behaviors that result in social or physical isolation
Students are identified as needing PBIS Tier 3 interventions through a few different channels. They are usually identified when they are already receiving Tier 2 resources, but those supports have not yet met their needs. A family member, teacher, or guidance counselor who has regular interactions with the student can also nominate them. Students can also ask for help and advocate for themselves. Regular and universal screenings of all students at a school can also help to identify which students would benefit from Tier 3 support.
PBIS Tier 3 behavior intervention examples
Tier 3 interventions for behavior build on the existing framework and behavior support offered in Tiers 1 and 2. As the student moves from one tier to the next, the support becomes more individualized and involved. For example, universal classroom instruction turns into small-group instruction in Tier 2. This small-group instruction can turn into one-on-one instruction in Tier 3.
Resources can include individual counseling, family counseling, or receiving instruction in a dedicated resource room. While the tools will vary based on school resources and the unique needs of each student, all are supported by the larger, guided PBIS Tier 3 intervention approaches below.
Functional behavior assessment (FBA)
A functional behavior assessment is a vital tool for an effective Tier 3 PBIS framework. The FBA helps a PBIS support team identify which behaviors to address and understand the circumstances surrounding them—including when and where the behavior occurs and what happens before and after. These findings are used to develop a hypothesis about the function of the behavior, or what need the student is trying to meet. This hypothesis helps the PBIS support team create a more targeted, individualized behavior intervention plan.
Wraparound
Wraparound interventions are another core tool for PBIS Tier 3. Wraparound support refers to interventions provided by multiple educators and community members. Wraparound support is a more comprehensive support plan in its coverage, offering additional resources for students whose needs aren’t met by an FBA alone. Wraparound can work with or without an FBA. Some students will receive wraparound support without an FBA, others will have an FBA with no wraparound, and additional Tier 3 students might have both.
Wraparound support in Tier 3 typically involves external support in addition to the in-school teams. This is because wraparound support is either delivered in community settings or, even if delivered in-school, addresses factors affecting a student’s well-being in all environments. With so much emphasis placed on working outside of the school and supporting the student’s home and community systems, wraparound works to engage families and other caring adults in the student’s life. When family involvement isn’t possible, wraparound teams identify other supportive relationships and community connections to help meet the student’s needs.
Examples of wraparound support for PBIS Tier 3 are:
- Medical, mental health, and community resources
- Providing family-focused resources
- Cultural and social resources
Person-centered planning (PCP)
Person-centered planning focuses heavily on the individual student, with direct input from the people closest to them. In PCP, the student collaborates with their support network—which may include family members, friends, mentors, foster caregivers, or other trusted individuals—to identify the student’s needs, strengths, and goals.
With this information, the student’s PBIS team can create a plan that implements individualized interventions and personalized support to foster long-term, positive behavioral changes. PCP emphasizes self-direction and self-management, with the eventual goal of the student learning how to use available community resources to continue their growth.
Supporting students with targeted, Tier 3 behavior interventions
Intensive interventions, whether delivered in general education or special education settings, are a vital part of any school’s PBIS framework because they support students with intensive needs. Effective PBIS Tier 3 interventions help students develop crucial life skills for self-managing their behaviors. When implemented effectively, a school can use PBIS Tier 3 to foster student success and a more positive school environment.
This article was adapted from a blog post initially developed by the education technology company Classcraft, which was acquired by HMH in 2023. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of HMH.
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