ABSTRACT
Schools are complex systems. High-school teachers tend to be more cynical than kindergarten teachers. Requests for behavior intervention plans may come from multiple professionals working within the system, and may occur for distinct reasons. Time must be spent determining who made a request for a behavior intervention plan (BIP) and why. BIPs are sometimes seen only as steps on the path to another goal, such as moving a student into a more restrictive environment. At times, BIP requests are initiated by supervisors without the consent of the classroom teacher. Students with challenging behaviors frequently exhibit a complex network of behaviors, thus some requests are multifaceted. Additionally, at times intervention requests may solicit assistance for a behavior that is not the primary concern. Carefully approaching the initial BIP request can help weed out many complications later in the process.
