Learn what it means to be a BII, including key responsibilities, how to collaborate with supervisors, implement behavior plans, collect data, and build positive rapport with students. 

You are a Behavior Interventionist. Congratulations! Your role is essential in achieving successful outcomes for the assigned learner. Cross Country Education’s BII Job Description, outlines the BII role as follows: 



“Behavioral Intervention Assistants support teachers in delivering services to an individual student in a K-12 setting. Assistants work with students primarily in the classroom as well as outside the classroom during nutrition, breaks and lunch. At times, support may need to be provided on school bus if the student receives transportation.” 

<h2>Duties and Responsibilities:</h2>
<ul>
 <li> Assists individual students who exhibit severe behavioral challenges in and outside of the classroom setting under the supervision of a Behavior Intervention Developer (BID).</li>

 <li> Assist classroom teacher and staff in managing the behavior of assigned student(s) to support them in accessing the educational environment. </li>

 <li> Implements applied behavior analysis techniques to support assigned student(s).</li>

 <li>Assists in the implementation of student behavior support plans and treatment plans as applicable and tracks/monitors data daily to provide necessary information to the BID to ensure that student needs are being met and that any adaptations needed are identified.</li>

 <li> Communicates with staff/BID regarding student progress.</li>

 <li> May be responsible for assisting student with washing, eating and other personal care needs.</li>

 <li> Other related duties as assigned or needed. </li>
</ul>

When you begin your assignment, you should, first and foremost, learn who your supervisor or point of contact will be. This may be a BCBA acting as a BID, ideally. However, it is not uncommon to have a SPED director/coordinator, an Assistant Principal, or even a Resource Teacher be assigned to oversee behavioral service goals. Connect with this person to establish a collaborative supervisory relationship. 

Then, you should review how you will provide support. What are the expectations or goals for the student? How will you work to support the student? How will this be documented? These are great questions to ask in an initial meeting, for example. If the student has an IEP, the goal will be clearly stated. Sometimes, students may not have an IEP, or they may be in the process of being assessed for an IEP. If this is the case, and there are no formal goals, come to an understanding of what the school would like the student to be doing, or not doing, as it relates to your support being given. The next step is documenting the student's behavior and the work you do. Schools may have paper and pencil data sheets for you, an end-of-day summary, or electronic data collection, like a Google Sheet, for example. 


The work you do and the way in which you support the student should be outlined in a Behavior Plan of some kind. Ideally, the behaviors of interest should be defined clearly. Does the student merely get off task, or do they engage in aggression? Do they throw items, or do they talk too much to their peers? What should you do to support them? This may be as simple as a prompt reminding them to keep working, or you may be using timers and token boards. This plan should be clear so that implementation can happen consistently every day. Think of it as a recipe. BIIs should be implementing treatment plans that are so clearly outlined, consistency can occur across all individuals- if you are absent, a sub should be able to follow the protocols in the same manner, to support the student, for example. In the absence of such a precise plan, you should at least have an outline of the goals and objectives and a broader, overall plan of action. Review any and all documentation available to you. If you do not feel you have enough support to confidently and competently provide support, reach out to your point of contact. 


Information gathered during meetings with your supervisor/contact, and review of various documents, should act as a plan of action for how you will support your student. You may ask for, or create, a binder of sorts to keep all info and potentially take additional notes as needed. It’s good to know things unique to the student and their schedule- do they get pulled for other services like speech or OT? What is the bell schedule? When do you take your breaks? Is someone coming in to cover for you, or is the student independent during your breaks? During your first few days, this will all come together, and you can have an established plan of what your day will look like. ABC data is always valuable as well. If you do not have a concrete plan yet, begin by taking ABC data of any noteworthy behaviors- this may include undesirable behavior (task refusal, noncompliance, hitting, elopement, etc.) as well as desirable behaviors (raising hands, task completion, following teacher instructions, etc.). These observations add context to our interventions. 

Lastly, it is never a problem to reach out for support! Connect with the teacher in passing or chat with a Resource Teacher on the way to the break room. Again, the role of the BII is not meant to be supervising the services or overseeing goal progress. By reaching out to others who are in those positions, you ensure you are still on track, the plan in place is valid, and your actions are in line with the school’s and students’ desired outcome. It may be especially necessary to reach out if you notice changes in the student’s behavior that warrant review and analysis from others to reassess any plans of action. Perhaps we should be fading back and prompting less; maybe behaviors have lessened in severity; a novel behavior may have developed throughout the course of supporting the student, or maybe significant progress is not observed. You are implementing interventions as part of a team, and, as such, someone should lead that team and advise you in some capacity. It is ultimately our goal to do our jobs so well that we no longer have a job- the student can be successful independently in school. 

Explore resources at CCE as well. Cross Country Education offers BII Office Hours monthly for the team to support you and advocate on your behalf. With regard to your relationship with the student, it is recommended to initially establish a positive rapport, then work to maintain that over time. This greatly supports intervention efforts. Please feel free to review and keep in mind <a href="https://www.crosscountry.com/blog/rapport-building-tips-for-tas-sped-aides-and-behavior-aides" target="_blank">Rapport Building Tips for TAs, SpEd Aides</a> and Behavior Aides. Attending regularly scheduled PDs will be beneficial as well. Thank you for your dedication to achieving better outcomes for students in school!

Starting Strong as a Behavior Interventionist: Your Guide to Successful Student Support