Use of office discipline referrals in school‐wide decision making: A practical example

Abstract

Abstract Problem‐solving approaches incorporating interventions at multiple levels have gained in popularity in recent years. One such model, Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), was developed to assist schools to more effectively promote positive student behavior through a systematic and recursive approach to developing and assessing school‐wide behavioral interventions. The focus of this article is on how data such as office discipline referrals (ODRs) can be used to inform decisions made by school problem‐solving teams. Following a brief overview of the PBIS model, specific recommendations are offered for school psychologists related to the collection and use of ODRs for intervention design, revision, and evaluation. In addition, preliminary data from a case‐study implementation are reviewed, highlighting the use of a data‐based decision‐making model for promoting positive student behavior. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 44: 19–27, 2007.