Functional Behavior Assessment in Public Schools: A Decision Guide

The first question in a school-based functional behavior assessment should not be, "Which FBA form should we use?" It should be, "What decision does this assessment need to support?"

That distinction matters because a referral can describe a serious concern without describing the behavior precisely, the classroom conditions around it, or the next action the team needs to take. A useful FBA is not just a report. It is a process for organizing information, testing a functional hypothesis when needed, and choosing a support that can be implemented in the student's actual school day.

This guide explains how school teams can move from a referral to an assessment plan without treating every concern as the same kind of problem.

Start with the school decision

Before selecting an assessment tool, write the decision in one sentence. Examples include:

• Does the team need more information before changing the current support?
• Is the behavior occurring in one classroom routine or across several settings?
• Is the current hypothesis specific enough to guide a behavior intervention plan?
• Does the team need a stronger test of competing functional hypotheses?
• Is the concern primarily an individual student pattern, a classroom condition, or both?

The decision determines what information is useful. A referral that asks for "an FBA" without naming the decision can produce a long document that does not resolve the team's actual question.

What a school referral should include

A referral is the beginning of the assessment, not the assessment itself. A useful referral gives the team enough information to route the concern and plan the first data collection step.

1. The observable concern

Describe what the student does in terms that another person could see and measure. Avoid labels such as defiant, manipulative, or noncompliant unless they are followed by observable examples.

Include:

• What the behavior looks and sounds like
• How an observer can tell when it starts and stops
• Examples and non-examples
• Frequency, duration, latency, or other relevant measures when available
• Any safety concern or effect on instruction

2. The context

Identify where and when the behavior is more and less likely. Include the activity, task, people present, transitions, materials, instructional format, and time of day when those details are known.

The context may reveal that the referral is connected to a specific routine or classroom condition. Kestner et al. (2019) recommend considering opportunities for active student responding, curriculum fit, feedback and reinforcement, and effective instructions and transitions when establishing baseline classroom conditions. For a school BCBA, that means the classroom context belongs in the initial assessment rather than being treated as background noise.

3. What happens before and after

Record the events that occur immediately before the behavior and what follows it. Include what adults and peers do, whether a task changes, whether the student gains or loses access to something, and whether the interaction returns to the prior activity.

These observations can suggest a functional hypothesis. They do not automatically prove that a consequence caused or maintains the behavior.

4. What has already been tried

List previous supports, when they were used, who implemented them, and what happened. This prevents the team from repeating an intervention without understanding its conditions of implementation.

The question is not simply whether a strategy "worked." Ask:

• What was the student expected to do?
• What did staff do before and after the behavior?
• Was the support implemented as designed?
• Did the behavior change in the target routine, across settings, or only briefly?

5. The people and records that should inform the assessment

The team should identify the people who see the behavior in relevant contexts. Depending on the student and referral, this may include the student, teachers, paraeducators, related service providers, family or caregivers, administrators, and the behavior analyst or other qualified assessment lead.

Relevant records may include work samples, attendance or discipline records, prior assessments, current plans, and progress data. The team should use only information that is appropriate to the purpose of the assessment and available through the school's procedures.

Choose the assessment level that answers the question

An FBA is a broader process. Interviews, record review, direct observation, descriptive data, and functional analysis are possible components within that process. A functional analysis is not a separate replacement for an FBA, and it is not the default next step for every student.

Initial review and indirect assessment

Start by clarifying the referral, reviewing records, and interviewing people with direct knowledge of the student and setting. Structured interviews or rating scales can organize information and identify possible patterns.

Indirect information is useful for generating questions. It is influenced by memory, perspective, and the conditions in which each person observes the student. Treat it as a starting point to verify, not as the final answer.

Direct descriptive assessment

Observe the student in the natural setting and record what occurs before, during, and after the target behavior. ABC observation, scatterplot recording, work samples, and routine-based measures can show whether the suspected pattern appears across days, people, activities, and settings.

Direct descriptive data can answer questions such as:

• Does the behavior occur after a particular instruction or transition?
• Does it change when the task, materials, or level of support changes?
• What do staff and peers do immediately afterward?
• Does the same pattern appear outside the originally reported setting?

Descriptive observation shows naturally occurring relationships. When the team needs to determine whether a specific environmental variable is functionally related to the behavior, descriptive data may be enough for a practical decision, or it may show that a more rigorous test is needed.

Functional analysis when a stronger test is justified

A functional analysis systematically tests environmental conditions to evaluate competing hypotheses about behavior. It can be useful when the function remains unclear, when descriptive patterns conflict, or when the team needs a stronger basis for selecting an intervention.

Not every student needs a functional analysis. The decision should consider the student's needs, the importance of the decision, the risk of the assessment, available expertise, school procedures, and whether the results would change what the team does.

When an analysis is considered in a school setting, the team may need a school-friendly adaptation or a precursor functional analysis. Either option requires appropriate competence, safety planning, clear stopping criteria, and coordination with the people responsible for the student's care and education.

Nesselrode et al. (2022) reviewed functional analysis research in public schools and found that analog functional analysis was the most common format in the reviewed literature, while brief and trial-based formats became more common over time. They also identified limitations in the school-specific evidence, including inconsistent terminology and the need for additional research on social validity. The practical implication is a balanced one: use assessment depth that fits the decision, and do not treat one procedure as mandatory for every referral.

Match the hypothesis to the next support

The assessment should end with a clear, testable summary that connects context, behavior, and consequence. A useful working format is:

When [context or antecedent] occurs, the student engages in [observable behavior], which is followed by [relevant consequence]. The behavior may be maintained by [function], and the team will verify this by [data or decision rule].

The last part is important. A hypothesis should tell the team what to look for next. If the team cannot identify what evidence would support or challenge the hypothesis, the statement is too broad to guide a plan.

The next support should then be connected to the function suggested by the assessment. That may involve changing antecedent conditions, teaching a replacement response, arranging an appropriate way to access the relevant outcome, changing staff responses, or collecting additional data before implementing a larger plan.

Before a BIP is finalized, ask:

• Does the plan address the conditions identified in the assessment?
• Does it teach a behavior that can realistically occur in the classroom?
• Do staff know what to do before, during, and after the target behavior?
• What student and implementation data will show whether the plan is being carried out and whether it needs revision?

A practical referral-to-assessment workflow

Use this sequence when a new or unresolved concern reaches the school team:

1. Clarify the decision. State what the team needs to decide next.
2. Define the behavior. Replace labels with observable descriptions and examples.
3. Map the context. Identify routines, tasks, people, and times associated with the concern.
4. Gather multiple perspectives. Include the student and the people who observe the behavior in relevant settings.
5. Collect direct data. Observe the natural environment and record antecedents, behavior, and consequences.
6. Choose the least intensive assessment that can answer the question responsibly. Increase assessment depth when the data are unclear, the decision is consequential, or the current hypothesis does not guide an effective plan.
7. Test the working hypothesis. Use progress and implementation data to determine whether the support should continue, change, or be assessed further.

The goal is not to avoid a functional behavior assessment. The goal is to make each assessment useful enough to support a real school decision.

Common problems to avoid

Treating the referral label as the hypothesis

"Defiance" and "attention-seeking" do not identify an observable behavior, its context, or the decision the team needs to make.

Treating one interview as proof

Interview information can be valuable, but the team should compare it with direct observation and records when those sources are available.

Assuming every concern needs the same procedure

The assessment path should fit the decision, risk, context, and available competence. A routine concern and a high-risk, unclear pattern should not be placed on the same track by default.

Writing an FBA that does not change the plan

If the report does not clarify what staff should do differently or what data they should collect next, the assessment has not finished its job.

Continue with the school FBA tools

Use the Functional Behavior Assessment Guide for a concise overview of core steps, data sources, and hypothesis statements.

When the team is deciding whether the current concern calls for additional assessment, use the FBA Decision Matrix as a discussion aid. When the assessment is complete, the FBA-to-BIP workflow can help connect the hypothesis to a function-based plan.

Frequently Asked Questions About FBA in Schools

What is the purpose of a functional behavior assessment in a school?

The purpose is to organize information about when and why behavior occurs so the team can make a better assessment and intervention decision. The depth of the assessment depends on the student's needs, the context, the decision, and applicable school procedures.

Does every student need a functional analysis?

No. A functional analysis is one possible component of an FBA. It may be considered when descriptive information is unclear or when a stronger test of competing hypotheses would change the decision. It should be conducted only with appropriate competence, safety planning, and authorization.

Who should be involved in a school FBA?

The team should include the student when appropriate and the people who observe or support the behavior in relevant settings. Depending on the case, that may include teachers, paraeducators, family or caregivers, related service providers, administrators, and a behavior analyst or other qualified assessment lead.

What is the difference between descriptive assessment and functional analysis?

Descriptive assessment records naturally occurring events and looks for patterns. Functional analysis systematically arranges conditions to test whether a variable is functionally related to behavior. Both can be part of an FBA, and the choice depends on the question the team needs to answer.

What should an FBA produce?

An FBA should produce a clear description of the behavior and context, a summary of the relevant data, a testable working hypothesis, and a defensible next step. When a BIP is needed, the plan should connect directly to the assessment findings.

References

Kestner, K. M., Peterson, S. M., Eldridge, R. R., & Peterson, L. D. (2019). Considerations of baseline classroom conditions in conducting functional behavior assessments in school settings. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 12(2), 452-465. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6745578/

Nesselrode, R., Falcomata, T. S., Hills, L., & Erhard, P. (2022). Functional analysis in public school settings: A systematic review of the literature. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 15(3), 958-970. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9582058/