ABSTRACT
Despite decades of research and reform, exclusionary discipline remains disproportionately used with minoritized students and students with disabilities (SWD). The present study investigates how functional behavior assessment (FBA) and Positive Behavior Support Plan (PBSP) procedures can be taught in conjunction with an explicit focus on achieving equitable outcomes for minoritized SWD. Specifically, researchers created modules for preservice teachers focused on racial and cultural bias within the FBA and PBSP processes. In this manuscript, we will detail the development, delivery, and preservice teachers’ perceptions of modules, directly and explicitly challenge color-evasive FBA and PBSP practices, and consider how PBSPs can be culturally responsive. We present results of social validity surveys and the School Record Analysis (SRA), a tool used to measure preservice teachers’ implicit racial biases. Exploratory results suggest the modules provide a promising and necessary step for using behavior analysis to address disproportionate use of exclusionary discipline for minoritized SWD.
