Identifying and Addressing Disproportionality within a

School-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports

Framework

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Kathryn Roose, M.A., BCBAJodie Soracco, M.Ed.Ashley Greenwald, M.A., BCBAKaci Fleetwood, M.Ed., BCBA

Outline

• Disproportionality• Addressing Disproportionality• Culturally Responsive SWPBIS• Strategies

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DISPROPORTIONALITY

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Disproportionality

• Disproportionality refers to the over or under representation of a group within a category• Eighty-five percent of office discipline referrals

(ODRs) are given to male students who are 50% of total enrollment (Overrepresentation)

• Males represent less than 30 % of elementary school teachers, yet are 50% of the U.S. population (Underrepresentation)

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Disproportionality in the News

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Disproportionality Research

• In 1973 African American students almost twice as likely to be suspended than white peers. By 2006, more than three times more likely (Losen & Skiba, 2010).

• African American students are 2.19 to 3.78 times as likely to be referred to the office for problem behavior as their white peers(Skiba et al., 2011).

• African American and Latino students are more likely than their white peers to receive expulsion or out of school suspension as consequences for the same or similar problem behavior (Skiba et al., 2011)

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Disproportionality

• National suspension rates show that 17%, or 1 out of every 6 black schoolchildren enrolled in K-12, were suspended at least once; and, this is much higher than the risk for Native Americans (1 in 13 or 8%), Latinos (1 in 14 or 7%), Whites (1 in 20 or 5%), or Asian Americans (1 in 50 or 2%). (Losen & Gillespie, 2012)

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Disproportionality and Disability

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Disproportionality and Disability

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Disproportionality and SES

• “When the relationship of SES to disproportionality in discipline has been explored directly, race continues to make a significant contribution to disproportionate disciplinary outcomes independent of SES” (Skiba et al., 2011)

Where does this come from?

• There is no evidence of different base rates of problem behavior (Bradshaw et al., 2010; Losen & Skiba, 2010)

• Patterns indicate that racial/ethnic bias plays a role (Skiba et al, 2002)

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Objective vs. subjective referral categories

White students referred more for:• Smoking• Vandalism• Leaving class/school

without permission• Obscene Language

Source: Center for Evaluation and Education Policy, Indiana University (2008)

Black students referred more for:• Disrespect• Excessive Noise• Threats• Loitering

ADDRESSING DISPROPORTIONALITY

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Addressing Disproportionality

• Step 1: Identify Disproportionality• Step 2: Problem Analysis• Step 3: Plan Implementation• Step 4: Plan Evaluation

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STEP 1: IDENTIFYING DISPROPORTIONALITY

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Identifying Disproportionality

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTcSVQJ2h8g

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Identifying Disproportionality

• Select metrics to use– Risk ratios

• Calculate metrics• Compare to goals

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School-wide Information Systems (SWIS)

• The SWIS Suite is a set of four applications (SWIS, CICO-SWIS, ISIS-SWIS, SAMI) designed to assist schools more effectively and efficiently use information for decision making.

• The right information given in the right format, at the right time, to the right people enhances the quality of decision making.

• Teams will ask questions of their data such as…

– Do we have a problem?

– What is the problem?

– Where, when, why, how, and how often are

problems occurring?

Percent of total referrals an ethnic group has compared to the percent of total school population that ethnic group composes.

Referrals by Ethnicity

Percent of all students who have referrals who belong to a certain ethnic group compared to the percent of total school population that same ethnic group composes.

Students with Referrals by Ethnicity

The proportion of a group that is at risk of receiving a referral.

Number of students in a group with an ODR divided by total number of students enrolled in the group

Referral Risk Index

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STEP 2: PROBLEM ANALYSIS

Step 2: Problem Analysis

• Why is it happening?

• Systems are not culturally responsive

• Behavior and discipline definitions are ambiguous

• Explicit or Implicit Bias– Disproportionality across all settings indicates explicit bias– Disproportionality in specific settings indicates implicit bias

• Vulnerable Decision Points

Explicit vs. Implicit Bias

• Explicit Bias– Overt, deliberately thought about and acted on– Can be favorable or unfavorable

• Implicit Bias– Attitudes or stereotypes that affect our

understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner

– Can be favorable or unfavorable– Generally not an indication of our beliefs and values

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Vulnerable Decision Points

• Specific decisions that are more vulnerable to the effects of implicit bias

• Affected by– Elements of the situation

• Subjectivity?– Behavior definitions– Major vs. Minor

– The person’s decision state

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Vulnerable Decision Points

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STEP 3: PLAN IMPLEMENTATION

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Step 3: Plan Implementation

• One or more of the following may be targeted:– Inadequate Systems

• Implement core features of PBIS to establish a foundation of support

– School-wide expectations• Ambiguous, not culturally relevant

• Implement culturally-responsive PBIS with input from the students/families

– Academic achievement gap– Explicit bias

• Enact strong anti-discrimination policies that include accountability

– Implicit bias• Investigate vulnerable decision points

STEP 4: PLAN EVALUATION

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Step 4: Plan Evaluation

1. Identify the time periods for evaluating disproportionality data

2. Assess progress and fidelity of solution plan implementation

3. Share results with relevant stakeholders

ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS IN ADDRESSING DISPROPORTIONALITY

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Components of Interventions to Prevent and Reduce Disproportionality

• 1. Reduce the achievement gap– Relation between academic achievement and

problem behavior– Effective instruction

• Explicit instruction• Opportunities to respond• Performance feedback• Assessments to guide instruction

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McIntosh, Girvan, Horner, Smolkowski, Sugai, 2014

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Components of Interventions to Prevent and Reduce Disproportionality

• 2. Implement a school-wide behavior framework that is preventive, multi-tiered, and culturally responsive.– Clear, consistent expectations reduce ambiguity– Clear discipline definitions and procedures can

reduce ambiguity in discipline decisions decreasing effects of implicit bias

– The focus on instructional approaches to discipline, which keeps students in the classroom

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Positive BehavioralInterventions and Supports

PBIS:Building effective environments that teach and encourage appropriate behaviors to replace the use of inappropriate behavior.

School-wide PBIS:The application of PBIS to the whole school. Thus, it is a broad range of systemic and individualized strategies for achieving important social and learning outcomes while preventing problem behavior with all students. It is a school discipline and positive school climate model.

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Universal instruction and support is provided to all

students. At least 80% of students’

needs are met through this level of

support.

Targeted group support provided to 10-15%

of students.

Intensive individualized support provided to 3-5% of students.

ProblemAnalysis

PlanEvaluation

Comprehensive Academ

ics and Behavioral Services

Use of the Problem Solving M

odel

Inte

nsity

of S

ervi

ces

5 Major Steps for Tier I SWPBIS

1. Clear set of expectations for whole school2. Procedures for teaching expectations3. Continuum of procedures for encouraging

expectations4. Continuum of procedures for discouraging

inappropriate behavior5. Procedures for on-going monitoring and

evaluation

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School-wide Systems - Create a positive school culture:

School environment is predictable1. common language2. common vision (understanding of expectations)3. common experience (everyone knows)

School environment is positiveregular recognition for positive behavior

School environment is safeviolent and disruptive behavior is not tolerated

School environment is consistentadults use similar expectations.

Six defining features of SWPBIS

Source: Sugai, G., Horner, R.H., Algozzine, R., Barrett, S., Lewis, T., Anderson, C.,…Simonsen, B. (2010).

Cultural responsiveness

• Cultural responsiveness recognizes the importance of culture and incorporates cultural elements (e.g., characteristics, experiences, and perspectives) from people who are different than oneself into interpersonal interactions to facilitate more effective relationships.

• Note: Adapted from “Preparing for Culturally Responsive Teaching,” by G. Gay, 2002, Journal of Teacher Education, 53(2), p.p. 106-116.

4 Key Elements

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Culturally Equitable Academic & Social

Behavior Competence

Culturally Valid Decision Making

Culturally Relevant Evidence-based

Interventions

Culturally Knowledgeable Staff

Behavior

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Characteristics of culturally responsive educators

• Have awareness of how an individual’s cultural background may influence their instructional, or disciplinary practices.

• Are knowledgeable of their students’ culture. • Utilize culturally diverse curriculum content.

– Use counter-stereotypical examples• Build learning communities that acknowledge student

culture. • Are skilled cross-cultural communicators (e.g., verbal

and non-verbal forms). • Can implement culturally diverse forms of instruction.

Note: Adapted from “Preparing for Culturally Responsive Teaching,”

by G. Gay, 2002, Journal of Teacher Education, 53(2), p.p. 106-116.

I don’t see skin color.

I am completely color blind.

For instance, I don’t see that the

man next to me is Black.

No, sir. I don’t see it.

Think, Pair, and Share

• Think: – About the impact that cultural diversity has had

on behavior support strategies in your school

• Pair: – Share with your partner

• Share: – With all table members an idea or experience

you heard from your partner

Illinois CR-SWPBIS Tool

• PURPOSE: To help ensure that SWPBIS practices and systems have equal impact for all students.

• ORIGIN: The CR-SWPBIS tool is a self-assessment instrument that was developed based on the research of Sugai, O’Keeffe, and Fallon (2012).

• The tool is offered free of cost at www.pbisillinois.org under ‘Equity’ resources located on the ‘Curriculum’ tab.

Illinois CR-SWPBIS tool at a glance: Tier 1 Systems

Illinois CR-SWPBIS tool at a glance: Tier 1 Systems Rubric

Components of Interventions to Prevent and Reduce Disproportionality

• 3. Collect, use, and report disaggregated student discipline data– SWIS automatically generates reports on

disproportionality– Rates may be calculated

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Components of Interventions to Prevent and Reduce Disproportionality

• 4. Develop policies with accountability for disciplinary equity– Policies should have clear steps to equity, and

accountability for taking these steps– Clear, actionable procedures for enhancing equity

• Removing harmful practices• Data collection• Professional development

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Different Biases = Different Plans

• Explicit Bias– Ineffective: cultural sensitivity training, explaining

value of diversity, telling people to be less biased• Implicit Bias

– Ineffective: Top-down policies with accountability

53(Girvan, 2013; Girvan et al., 2013; Lai et al., 2013; Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006)

Addressing Explicit Bias with Policy

• Specific Commitment to Equity– Mission statements– Hiring preferences– Ongoing professional development– Removal of discriminatory practices

• Accountability for Efforts– Professional development attendance– Share disproportionality data regularly– Build equity outcomes into evaluations

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Addressing Implicit Bias with Training

• Reduce ambiguity in ODR definitions and processes– Clear guidelines for classroom vs. office-managed

behaviors– Avoid rules that result in disproportionate

exclusion• Identify specific vulnerable decision points

(vulnerable to bias)

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Identifying VDPs

• Teach staff how to identify VDPs– Use school data – Use national data– Teach them what we already know about VDPs

• Ambiguity in behavior definitions– Defiance, disrespect, disruption

• Major vs. Minor• Fatigue• Hunger

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Components of Interventions to Prevent and Reduce Disproportionality

• 5. Teach neutralizing routines for vulnerable decision points.– Teach a self-review routine

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Two Systems for Decision Making

• System 1: Fast Decisions– Automatic, snap judgments– Intuitive, unconscious

• System 2: Slow Decisions– Deliberate decisions– Allows for conscious attention

58Kahneman, 2011

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Examples of Neutralizing Routines

• “See me after class”• Am I acting in line with my values?• Take a deep breath• Delay the decision until I can think clearly• Recognize my feelings and let them go

• What else could you do?

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Data…Data…Data

DATA

Case Study K-8 Urban

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Drill Down - Playground

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Case Study

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Case Study

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Promising Outcomes

• A discipline gap with African American students over-represented among students with office discipline referrals was present in schools engaged in school-wide positive behavior support implementation as well as schools not engaged in implementation; however, the gap was smaller in schools engaged in school-wide positive behavior support. (Vincent, Swain-Bradway, Tobin, & May, 2011)

• Research has shown that a reduction in disproportionality is more likely though systems change than by focusing on individual students. (Skiba, Arredondo, & Rausch, 2014)

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www.pbis.org

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Equity and PBIS

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Closing Thoughts

• Most people carry some type of implicit bias• Implicit bias may have a detrimental effect on

students• Don’t be afraid to talk about

race/culture/disproportionality• Use data• Systemic change is necessary for effective and

long-lasting improvements

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It’s Called Respect!

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGuT9-_Y5J4

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Thank you!!

Kathryn Roose, M.A., BCBAEvaluation and Data Managerkroose@unr.edu

www.nevadapbis.org

Make sure to “like” us at www.facebook.com/nevadasctp

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Thank You!

Thanks to: • Funding by the Safe and Healthy Students office & Nevada

Department of Education• Nevada Center for Excellence in Disabilities• Department of Education, UNR

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