Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a process for creating (or developing) safer and more effective schools. PBIS, as it is more commonly called, is a systems approach to enhancing the capacity of schools to educate all children by developing research-based, school-wide and classroom discipline systems. The process focuses on improving a school's ability to teach and support positive behavior for all students. Rather than a prescribed program, PBIS provides systems for schools to design, implement, and evaluate effective school-wide, classroom, non-classroom, and student specific discipline plans. PBIS includes school-wide procedures and processes intended for:

• ALL students, ALL staff and in ALL settings
• Non-classroom settings within the school environment (e.g., hallways, cafeteria, bathrooms)
• Individual classrooms and teachers
• Small group interventions for the approximated 5-15% of students that require a more specialized approach to social skills and behavior instruction
• Individual student supports for the estimated 1-5% of students who present the most challenging behaviors

PBIS is a team-based process for systemic problem-solving, planning, and evaluation. It is an approach for creating an environment within which school-based teams of educators are trained in:

• Systems change
• Effective behavior management principles and practices
• Applications of research-validated instructional and management practices

Each school develops its own school-wide expectations, routines and procedures that reflect the essential elements of PBIS within its school culture.