Multi-tiered system of support (MTSS)

As part of the support process, the multidisciplinary team should determine what existing, school-based resources can be leveraged across tiers (e.g., counselor-led groups, targeted interventions, functional behavioral assessment and planning, scheduling changes) to provide ongoing support.

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) represents a powerful application of the multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) framework in educational settings.

Practices are the evidence-based supports and interventions provided to students to address valued outcomes and goals. In the PBIS framework, practices are organized within a continuum.

Practices, data, and systems are implemented across a continuum of prevention and support from universal (Tier 1), to targeted (Tier 2), to individualized (Tier 3; see Figure 2).

As the intensity of need increases, the precision with which systems and data are used to support implementation must also increase.

FIGURE 2 | SAMPLE PRACTICES, DATA, AND SYSTEMS WITHIN A TIERED SYSTEM OF DELIVERY INDIVIDUALIZED SUPPORT TARGETED SUPPORT PROACTIVE AND PREVENTATIVE SUPPORT

The specific practices implemented within each tier are selected and supported by the leadership team.

Focuses on building a continuum of supports to promote all students’ social, emotional, behavioral, and mental health

Table 2 summarizes important systems-level considerations for each of the three tiers within the MTSS/PBIS framework.

Core Tier 1 practices and data systems | • Core Tier 1 and Tier 2 practices and data systems | • Core Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 practices and data systems

Continuum of interventions matched to student needs (e.g., social skills instruction)

Within a continuum of support aligned with MTSS/PBIS, educators implement universal practices to proactively support all student SEB needs (Tier 1), provide targeted practices to small groups of students identified as needing supplemental support (Tier 2), and individualize and intensify select practices to support students with more significant SEB needs (Tier 3).

Individual practices should be evidence-based, aligned to documented needs, layered, and aligned across tiers.

For example, in a layered approach a student receiving Tier 3 supports would also have access to supports at Tiers 1 and 2 (see Figure 3).

Language and intervention approaches should be aligned and complementary across tiers, meaning Tier 2 and 3 interventions should use similar language and support Tier 1 and 2 practices.

Within a multi-tiered framework such as this, practitioners may wonder how students with disabilities are meaningfully included (McIntosh & Goodman, 2016).

In actuality, students with disabilities are best supported when they are meaningfully included and receive supports across all tiers (Cheney et al., 2004; Grasley-Boy et al., 2019; Tobin et al., 2012).

For more information on the various supports across the tiers, see the Center on PBIS’s Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3, topic pages.

The collection and use of data for decision-making are critical to multi-tiered prevention efforts.

Multi-tiered systems of support, like PBIS, include all students across all levels of support – including students with disabilities.

Supporting SWD begins by establishing a strong multi-tiered system of support that promotes a culture of connectedness and belonging for all students. This culture provides the foundation for the early identification of needs and timely and effective interventions for students regardless of IDEA or 504 status.

As part of their MTSS/PBIS implementation process, teams should ensure that SWD are fully included in and benefiting from all tiers of interventions.

For more information regarding the implementation of the PBIS framework and multi-tiered systems of support, visit the resource pages What is PBIS?, Why Implement PBIS?, and Getting Started from the Center on PBIS.