"PBIS" is short for Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports. PBIS is an organized, data-driven system of interventions, strategies, and supports that positively impact school-wide and individualized behavior planning.
In the past, school-wide discipline has typically focused on reacting to specific student misbehavior and implementing punishment-based consequences including reprimands, loss of privileges, office referrals, and suspensions. Research, however, has shown that the implementation of punishment, especially when used inconsistently or in the absence of other positive strategies, is ineffective. Instead, PBIS focuses on introducing, modeling, and reinforcing positive social behavior. Teaching appropriate behavioral expectations and rewarding students for following them is a much more proactive approach. The purpose of school-wide PBIS is to establish a climate in which appropriate behavior is the norm.