The Use of a District-Wide Level System and It's Impact on General Education Inclusion for Students with in Special Education Behavior Classroom
In August of the 2011-2012 school year, the Judson Independent School District had approximately 93 students in self-contained behavior classrooms in their middle and elementary schools. These students were disproportionately male and African-American. The two high schools were implemented behavior classrooms this school year, so their data will not be included in this project. The majority of the students were considered self-contained and spent more of than 60% of their instructional school day in the behavior classroom. The following data was collected in August 2011 and consists of each middle school and elementary school that had a behavior classroom on their campus. Also included are the three classrooms housed at the district's self-contained behavior campus. The data is provided to show gender and ethnic representation. All students are students with a disability and serviced through special education.
Middle School 1:
Male: 7
Female: 1
African American: 5
Hispanic: 0
White: 2
Middle School 2
Male: 6
Female: 1
African American: 7
Hispanic: 0
White: 0
Middle School 3
Male: 7
Female: 0
African American: 5
Hispanic: 1
White: 1
Middle School 4
Male: 4
Female: 1
African American: 3
Hispanic: 0
White: 1
Middle School 5
Male: 4
Female: 0
African American: 3
Hispanic: 1
White: 0
ES 1
Male: 5
Female: 3
African American: 6
Hispanic: 0
White: 2
ES 2
Male: 8
Female: 0
African American: 5
Hispanic: 2
White: 1
ES 3
Male: 9
Female: 1
African American: 3
Hispanic: 5
White: 1
ES 4
Male: 12
Female: 1
African American: 6
Hispanic: 6
White: 1
ES 5
Male: 4
Female: 0
African American: 4
Hispanic: 0
White: 0
Separate Behavior Campus
Classroom #1
Male: 2
Female: 1
African American: 0
Hispanic: 1
White: 2
Classroom #2
Male: 5
Female: 2
African American: 4
Hispanic: 2
White: 1
Classroom #3
Male:7
Female:3
African American:7
Hispanic: 2
White: 1
In an effort to transition these students back into the general education classroom, BAC (Behavior Adjustment Classroom) Guidelines were developed by the District Behavior Specialist to clearly define set criteria that would necessitate the move from the self-contained special education setting to the general education setting. The need for this was determined by a needs assessment survey from special education behavior teachers that indicated decisions for movement into the general education classroom were purely subjective and not based on student need or data, but based in the willingness of campus administrators to allow a move.
The guidelines were developed and implemented across the district in each BAC room and at the separate behavior campus. Table 1 below is a listing of each level. There are 5 levels. The levels may be designed/modified for each individual student with the approval of the behavior specialist and/or special education coordinator.
Table 1
Level System
Level 1
All students must maintain 65% of their possible daily points for 5 consecutive days. At level 1, all students must remain in the BAC/JAC classroom and be escorted whenever they leave the classroom. Students will remain at the desk/carrel and will also have lunch at their desk/carrel. Reinforcers may be chosen by staff and may include puzzles, magazines, and art projects. Students are not allowed to use the school store on Level 1. All reinforcers must be used at desk/carrel.
Level 2
All students must maintain 70% of their possible daily points for 10 days. If the student has 2 days at 50% or below, they will drop to Level 1. At level 2, all students must remain in the BAC/JAC classroom and be escorted whenever they leave the classroom. Students will remain at the desk/carrel but will be allowed to leave their desk with staff permission. Lunch may be eaten at desk or can be earned to eat at table with peers. Reinforcers may be chosen by staff and may include Level 1 reinforcers, radio/music, media usage, and school store.
Level 3
All students must maintain 80% of their possible daily points for 15 days. If the student has 3 days at 50% or below, they will drop to Level 2. At level 3, students may leave the classroom with a pass. Students will earn 1-2 classes out of the BAC room. Students may work at desk/carrel or in groups. Lunch will be with peers in the cafeteria. Reinforcers may be chosen by staff and may include Level 1 and 2 reinforcers, school store, and campus activities.
Level 4
All students must maintain 85% of their possible daily points for 20 days. If the student has 4 days at 50% or below, they will drop to Level 3. At level 4, students may leave the classroom with a pass. Students will earn 3-4 classes out of the BAC room. Students from the JAC will attend a half day at their home campus. Students may work at desk/carrel or in groups. Lunch will be with peers in the cafeteria. Reinforcers may be chosen by staff and may include Level 1,2, and 3 reinforcers, school store, and campus activities.
Level 5
All students must maintain 90% of their possible daily points for 30 days. If the student has 5 days at 50% or below, they will drop to Level 4. At level 5, students will be out of the BAC room the entire day. Staff will develop a check-in/check-out system to monitor and support their students. Students at the JAC will attend the entire day at their home campus. The case manager for each JAC student will monitor their progress.
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The level system was implemented over August and September 2011 and teachers were required to send in monthly reports detailing student levels and progress. This report will examine the effectiveness of the level system by examining the data from student placement. An analysis of the students from instructional arrangement at the beginning of the implementation to their final placement in May 2012 wil be used to measure effectiveness of the level system. A teacher survey will also be included to examine teacher and campus buy-in for the guidelines.
The BAC/JAC classroom is a learning environment for Special Education students who have an identified need for additional instruction in the areas of behavior, social skills, organization, coping skills, goal setting and anger management. The use of a level system within the context of the classroom is multi-faceted. A level system is a token economy reinforcement system I that rewards a student's behaviors with extrinsic and intrinsic rewards. The first objective is to teach teach students social skills that for various reasons, have not been mastered for students to successfully navigate among peers and in the school-setting.
According to Heward (2003), level systems provide an organizational hierarchy where “students access greater independences and more privileges as they demonstrate increased behavioral control.” Farrell and Smith (1993) have researched many aspects of level systems and their effectiveness and found that there was “extensive use of level systems.... characteristics common to level systems, and inconsistencies in perceptions of effectiveness and satisfaction.” Fidelity to implementation does remain the largest obstacle to successful implementation of a level system to effectively. In order for the token economy [reinforcement] to run smoothly, the observation, quantification, recording, and analyzing of the participant’s data are crucial (Milby, Herman, Willcutt, & Hawk, 1973).
The use of level systems has been used often in correctional facilities as well as psychiatric hospitals (Hagopian et al., 2002 & Reid, 1979). Participants have historically advanced or dropped in levels based on the same contengencies (Hagopian et al., 2002). This lack of individualization is a major criticism of level systems and does bring up legal issues associated with IDEA and the need for individualization of plans for students with disabilities (Scheuermann et al., 1994). Another criticism is the lack of hard data supporting successful implementation of level systems. Although use of level systems are widespread among a variety of settings and have been considered to be a successful behavioral intervention method, there is a lack of empirical data to support these claims (Bauer, Shea & Keppler, 1986; Klotz, 1987; & Mastropieri, Jenne, & Scruggs, 1988).
References
Bauer, A.M., Shea, T.M., & Keppler, R. (1986). Level systems: A framework for the
individualization of behavior management. Behavior Disorders, 12, 28-35.
- Farrell, D.T., & Smith, S.W. (1993). Level system use in special education: Classroom
- intervention with prima facie appeal. Behavioral Disorders, 18(4), 251-264.
Hagopian, L.P., Rush, K.S., Richman, D.M., Kurtz, P.F., Contrucci, S.A., & Crossland, K. (2002). The development and application of individualized level systems for the treatment of severe problem behavior. Behavior Therapy, 33,65-86.
- Heward, W.L. (2003). Exceptional children: An introduction to special education. Upper
- Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.
Hewett, F.M. (1968). The emotionally disturbed child in the classroom: A developmental strategy for educating children with maladaptive behavior. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Klotz, M.E. (1987). Development of a behavior management level system: A comprehensive school-wide behavior management program for emotionally 32 disturbed adolescents. The Pointer, 31, 5-11.
Mastropieri, M.A, Jenne, T., & Scruggs, T.E. (1988). A level system for managing problem behaviors in a high school resource program. Behavioral Disorders, 13,202-208.
Milby, J. Willcutt, H. Hawk, J., MacDonald, M. & Whitfield (1973). A system for recording individualized behavioral data in a token program. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 6, 333-338.
Reid, I. (1979). Developing a behavioral regime in a secure youth treatment centre. Bulletin of the British Psychological Society, 32, 207.
Scheuermann, B., Webber, J., Partin, M., & Kines, W. (1994). Level systems and the law: Are they compatible? Behavioral Disorders, 19, 205 – 220.
Tomaka, Ashley, "Evaluation of a level system with a built in token economy to decrease inappropriate behaviors of individuals with mental retardation" (2009). Graduate School Theses and Dissertations. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/53
- The action research was implemented after finding a need in the district for students with severe behavioral difficulties and their lack of inclusion in general education settings. After meeting with the Director of Special Education, it was decided that I would write guidelines for all the behavior classrooms in the district with a method to facilitate the students movement out of the behavior classroom into the general education classroom. After evaluating the problem and reviewing the research, a level system was identified as the most effective way to implement a subjective, data-based approach to the problem.
- The BAC/JAC Guidelines were written and presented to the Special Education Leadership Team for their input and to provide any necessary revisions. The Supervising LSSP (Licensed Specialist in School Psychology) also reviewed the guidelines for legal review. Monthly support meetings were held with all behavior teachers in the district to provide support for implementing the new guidelines. All students in the behavior classroom were given a parent/student version of the guidelines and IEP meetings were held to include the level system into the Behavior Intervention plans of all students. At these meeting, parents were given a copy of the guidelines and the program was explained to them. Their input was also noted in deliberations during IEP (Individual Education Plan) meetings. Administration from each school, as well as staff, were given the guidelines and were presented with an explanation of the program. The guidelines were then posted on the district intranet site.
- Monitoring forms were devised when the guidelines were implemented and a protocol for returning monthly data was established. When students were moved to a least restrictive environment that resulted in a change in instructional arrangement on their IEP, a brief ARD/IEP meeting was held. This allowed for input into the student's academic and behavioral performance as well.
As the district behavior specialist, I was able to monitor all the behavior classrooms in the district throughout the implementation process and address any concerns that arose. The establishment of concrete rules governing the movement of students to a least restrictive environment was the key point that was communicated to school administration and allowed for resolutions of conflict when administrators were reluctant to allow for placement of the behavior students into a general education setting. The monthly support meetings also served as a way for teachers to bring their concerns about the level system to the table. All classrooms were to have a designated amount of monies ($250) to provide reinforcers for the sytem, but access to this money varied from campus ti campus and became a major concern. As such, I included the topic in the end of the year teacher survey included in this project.
This action research project was designed to specifically address the needs of population that has historically been excluded from the general education setting. Students with severe behavior difficulties usually have a severe emotional disturbance, although in our classrooms, students with a disability of OHI (Other Health Impaired) and ID (Intellectual Disability) are also included. This group of students is overwhelmingly male and African-American and Hispanic. Designing a system the meet the needs of the students so they may access FAPE (Free and Appropriate Public Education) in their least restrictive environment (LRE) was the intent of the project
