16 EQUITABLE EDUCATION
The Role of Behavior Analysts in Providing Equitable Services for Clients in Public Schools
Abstract
Students with disabilities who are enrolled in public school settings are legally entitled to an appropriate education (IDEA, 2004). As IDEA has provided safeguards for students with disabilities over the last two decades, extensive exclusionary practices for students without developmental disabilities, and particularly for students of color, continue to persist at alarming rates in public schools (Gilliam & Shahar, 2006). As such, it is clear that we have not yet achieved an equitable education for all students. As behavior analysts measure environmental variables and their impact on behavior, they may also contribute to an equitable education by acknowledging current exclusionary practices (e.g., suspension and expulsion), engaging in actions to limit the use of these practices, and training school personnel on evidence-based teaching practices. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the intersection of these variables and the role of school-based behavior analysts in contributing to an equitable education for their clients.
Keywords
equitable education
IDEA
Evidence-based classroom practices
emotional impairments
behavioral skills training
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
exclusionary discipline practices
emotional and behavior disorders
behavior-specific statements
active student responding
About
Nicole Hollins
M.A., BCBA, LBA
Nicole A. Hollins received her Masters of Arts in Applied Behavior Analysis from Western Michigan University with a specialization in Universal Classroom Management and the Assessment and Treatment of Challenging Behaviors. Nicole intends to graduate from Western Michigan University in 2021 with her Doctorate in Applied Behavior Analysis. Over the past four years, she has provided services to individuals with and without developmental disabilities in over 30 various applied settings including schools, autism treatment centers, family homes, and group homes. Additionally, she has had the opportunity to present at national and local conferences, while also contributing to empirically supported publications such as academic journals and books.
As for community partnerships, Nicole has coordinated several grants that focused on an evaluation of current teacher practices while providing systemic recommendations for improving equity in the classrooms. It has brought her so much joy to empower and coach teachers and future practitioners from all backgrounds on Universal Classroom Management, supporting students through individualizing educational curricula, and increasing access for individuals with challenging behaviors.
Stephanie Peterson
Ph.D., BCBA-D, LBA
Stephanie M. Peterson, Ph.D., is Professor Psychology and Chair of the Department of Psychology at Western Michigan University. She earned her doctorate in Special Education at The University of Iowa in 1994. Previously, she taught at Gonzaga University, Utah State University, The Ohio State University, and Idaho State University. Her primary research interests are helping to decrease chronic severe behavior problems in children with developmental disabilities. Specifically, she studies choice making in the treatment of problem behavior, functional communication training, reinforcement-based interventions for children with problem behavior, concurrent schedules of reinforcement in the treatment of severe problem behavior, functional analysis of problem behavior, and teleconsultation. She also has interests in applications of behavior analysis to educational interventions and teacher/behavior analyst training. She has served on a variety of editorial boards, including the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and Behavior Analysis in Practice. She also served as a Senior Editor for Education and Treatment of Children for many years. She served two 3-year terms on the Board of Directors for the Behavior Analyst Certification Board and has now been appointed by the Governor of Michigan to the Michigan Board of Behavior Analysts, Michigan’s licensing board for behavior analysts. She has served as the President of the Board for two years.