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Letter 23: Request for a Functional Behavioral Assessment and Behavior Intervention Plan

When to Use It

Send this letter when behavior is costing your child learning time - incident reports, calls home, time out of class, removals - and there is no behavior plan, or the one that exists is not working. When a child’s behavior impedes the child’s learning or that of others, the IEP team must consider the use of positive behavioral interventions and supports, and other strategies, to address it (34 C.F.R. § 300.324(a)(2)(i)). The tool for understanding behavior is a functional behavioral assessment (FBA): a structured study of when the behavior happens, what comes before it, and what it gets the child. Its results feed the behavior intervention plan (BIP). Tool 56 shows how to tell a real FBA from a checklist with a fancy name.

An FBA does not automatically count as an IDEA evaluation. Consent depends on how the district will use it. Consent is required when the FBA is part of an initial evaluation or reevaluation, when it and other data are used as that evaluation or reevaluation, or when a new FBA is conducted under the discipline provisions. IDEA consent is not required for instructional screening or a review of existing data. Ask the district to identify the category and send any required form (U.S. Department of Education, 2024 FBA guidance, 11-14).

Send it to: the director of special education and the principal. Copy the case manager or special education teacher.