Definition: A
Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) takes the observations made in a
Functional Behavioral Assessment and turns them into a concrete plan of action for managing a student's behavior. A BIP may include ways to change the environment to keep behavior from starting in the first place, provide positive reinforcement to promote good behavior, employ planned ignoring to avoid reinforcing bad behavior, and provide supports needed so that the student will not be driven to act out due to frustration or fatigue. When a behavior plan is agreed to, the school and staff are legally obligated to follow it, and consequences of not following it should not be inflicted on the student. However, as with so many provisions of
IDEA, this may take a lot of vigilance, advocacy, and battling by parents to make sure that everyone who is to take these interventions into account does so in a complete and informed way.