Tessa Holloway
Staff writer, editorial desk
Tessa writes and updates the guides on Behavior Plan Playbook. The work is reading the federal IDEA rules, state and technical-assistance guides, and published research summaries on school behavior supports, turning them into checklists, examples, and sample forms, and re-checking each guide on a set schedule. Tessa is not an attorney, a psychologist, or a behavior analyst, and nothing here replaces your district procedures or your team's professional judgment.
How guides are researched and re-checked is described on how we review. To report a correction, use the contact page.
Guides by Tessa Holloway
ABC Data: How to Record Good Entries, Step by Step
How to write ABC entries that a team can use: what goes in each column, good and poor entries side by side, how to summarize a set, and how many you need.
Positive supportsAntecedent Strategies in the Classroom: Prevent It First
Prevention moves a teacher can make before a behavior starts: expectations, schedule, choices, task fit, and seating, with examples matched to function.
Data collectionBaseline Before a Behavior Plan: What to Count First
Take a baseline for a behavior before a plan starts: what to count, how many days, what to do if safety cannot wait, and how to graph the starting point.
BIP writingBehavior IEP Goals: Examples You Can Adapt
Twelve invented behavior IEP goals by skill area, each with condition, skill, and criterion, plus a fill-in template and checks that keep goals measurable.
BIP writingBIP Review and Revision: When and How to Update a Plan
When to review a behavior plan, what to check in order, how data rules turn numbers into decisions, and how to fade or revise a plan with notice.
Meetings and documentationBIP Team Meeting Agenda: A Sample You Can Adapt
A 60 minute agenda for a behavior plan meeting, who should attend under IDEA, what to send ahead, how to run the table, and how to close with actions.
BIP writingBIP vs Behavior Goals: What Goes Where in the IEP
A BIP tells adults what to do. A behavior goal says what the student will learn and how it is measured. How the two fit, with a table and sample wording.
BIP writingCrisis Plan in a BIP: An Overview for School Teams
What a crisis section of a behavior plan is for, when a team writes one, Colorado's three phases, and why training and state law matter. Overview only.
Data collectionData Sheets for BIP Progress: Layouts That Get Used
Build the data sheets that track a behavior plan: a daily frequency sheet, duration and intensity layouts, a replacement skill column, and fidelity checks.
Data collectionDocumenting Behavior Incidents Factually
Write a behavior incident note that sticks to what was seen and heard, with opinion-to-fact rewrites, a checklist, and a note on who may read it later.
FBA basicsFBA Steps in Order: A Working Checklist
The steps of a functional behavior assessment in order, from choosing one behavior to the summary statement, with the output and trap at each step.
FBA basicsFBA vs BIP: The Difference, Side by Side
An FBA studies why a behavior happens. A BIP says what the team will do about it. A side-by-side table, how one feeds the other, and what IDEA says.
FBA basicsHypothesis Statement Examples for School Behavior
A template for a behavior hypothesis (summary) statement, six invented examples across functions, how to test one, and what to do when data point two ways.
Meetings and documentationManifestation Determination Review: The Basics
What a manifestation determination review is under 34 CFR 300.530: when it happens, who takes part, the two questions, and next steps. General information.
Positive supportsReinforcement Basics for Classroom Behavior Plans
What reinforcement is, how to find what works for a student, why timing matters, how to move from every time to sometimes, and how to fade rewards.
BIP writingReplacement Behaviors: Examples and How to Teach Them
What a replacement behavior is, how to choose one with the same function, examples by function, and a teaching order from state and federal guides.
Data collectionScatterplot Data for Behavior: Build One, Read One
Build a behavior scatterplot from the schedule, tally it for a week, read the pattern by time and activity, and decide what to do next, with a worked grid.
Positive supportsSelf-Monitoring for Behavior Goals: Teach Students to Track
How to teach a student to check their own behavior: a simple checklist, a teaching sequence, an accuracy check, a fade plan, and goal wording.
Positive supportsSensory Needs and Behavior: A Careful Overview for Teams
How a team can weigh sensory factors without jumping to conclusions: what FBA sources say, patterns to collect, who to involve, and avoiding a mismatch.
Meetings and documentationSharing a BIP With All Staff: Who Needs What
How to get a behavior plan to the adults who carry it out: what IDEA requires, a one-page summary, a substitute packet, short coaching, and privacy.
Meetings and documentationTalking With Parents About Behavior: Calls, Notes, and Logs
How to talk with families about behavior: a first-call outline, good and poor wording side by side, a home-school log, and how often to be in touch.
Team rolesThe General Education Teacher's Role in a Behavior Plan
What a general education teacher is asked to do in a behavior plan: IDEA's team and access rules, daily steps, data, communication, and support.
Team rolesThe Paraprofessional's Role in a Behavior Plan
What a paraprofessional may do in a behavior plan, what stays with the teacher, how to prepare, and questions to ask, based on IDEA and a state guide.
Positive supportsTransitions and Behavior: Supports for the Moments Between
Why transitions are a common trigger, a routine teachers can teach, supports for individual students, and how to time and track transitions for progress.
FBA basicsWhat Is a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA)?
A plain-language look at the functional behavior assessment: what IDEA says, what the parts are, what it can and cannot tell a team, and who takes part.
BIP writingWhat to Include in a Behavior Intervention Plan
A section-by-section checklist for a behavior intervention plan, built from Colorado's 2025 guide and Illinois's 2024 guidance, and what each section says.
Meetings and documentationWhen a Behavior Plan Is Not Working: A Troubleshooting Guide
A guide to a behavior plan that is not working: check use, then fit, then function, what to do if behavior worsens first, and when to call the team.
FBA basicsWhen Is an FBA Needed? What IDEA Requires and What Teams Do
Where IDEA requires an FBA, where it only asks teams to consider positive supports, and a short checklist for deciding whether a full assessment fits.
Team rolesWho Is on the FBA Team? Roles, Skills, and Consent
Who takes part in a functional behavior assessment: the IEP team under IDEA, the specialists and staff who add data, what each does, and families.
FBA basicsWriting an Operational Definition of a Behavior
Define a behavior so two adults count the same thing: the observable test, examples and non-examples, a template, and an agreement check before data.