Domain 2: Behavioral Supports

What this domain covers

The specially designed instruction (SDI) and supports a student needs for behavioral, emotional, and social regulation — to access instruction, participate safely, and engage in school routines. It reflects the intensity and structure of behavior intervention. What's rated is the intervention the IEP prescribes, not the behavior a student shows; a behavior that carries no service in the IEP isn't rated here.

The decision boundaries

Each of the four factors is rated 0–3, and the rating climbs as the student needs more intervention: 0 means none is required for FAPE, and 3 means behavioral support is daily and pervasive enough to structure the student's day. For Behavior, the level of Factor A turns on whether the support is preventive or reaches into crisis response.

Factor	0	1	2	3
A — How much instruction	No direct behavior SDI required for FAPE	Targeted, isolated support; less than 60 minutes per week; at least one behavior goal	Regular preventive programming; consistently implemented BIP; multiple goals	Daily or near-continuous; reactive, safety-driven, or crisis-oriented — de-escalation, emergency response
B — Who delivers it	No specialized qualifications required for FAPE	Typically-qualified staff with routine training	Behavior specialist, counselor, social worker, or school psychologist with targeted competencies and coaching	Highly specialized expertise for crisis-level, function-based intervention with frequent plan redesign
C — Ratio	No reduced ratio required for FAPE	Intermittent, responsive support	Planned reduced ratio at known high-risk times or transitions	Near-continuous ratio for safety and immediate response
D — Equipment	No equipment required for FAPE	Visual schedules, choice boards, noise-canceling headphones	Self-monitoring apps, routine calming or sensory tools	Systems foundational to regulation or safety; AAC where required to prevent escalation

Preventive vs. crisis (Factor A)

The amount of behavior service doesn't move Factor A to its top level on its own — the nature of the support does:

• Level 2 — regular, preventive programming: explicit teaching of replacement skills, a consistently implemented BIP, supports delivered at predictable high-need times.
• Level 3 — the support becomes reactive and safety-driven: regular de-escalation, crisis prevention, or emergency response, without which behavioral needs significantly disrupt access.

A BIP is not automatically Level 3 (Factor A)

A behavior intervention plan, consistently implemented, doesn't push Factor A to its top level on its own — however detailed the plan is:

• Level 2 — a well-run, preventive BIP, however thorough.
• Level 3 — reached only when crisis-level support is required alongside the BIP.

Reading this domain for specific cases

The general age and post-graduation principles are on the what is a domain page. What's specific to Behavior:

• Ages 3–5 (not in kindergarten): much behavior at this age is developmentally typical, and staff support for regulation and routines is universal. A significant rating turns on frequency, severity, and impact on access and safety — not on age-expected behavior.
• Students continuing after meeting graduation requirements: the focus shifts toward behaviors affecting employment, community participation, and self-management at work.

Differentiating between domains

Two boundaries come up often with Behavior:

• A behavior that is really a communication breakdown — frustration from being unable to express a need — belongs in Communication (Domain 3) when communication is the primary driver. It stays in Behavior only when the behavior intervention itself is the primary support.
• Supervision belongs in Behavior when it's for safety or behavior reduction. Supervision to get through routines belongs in Independent Functioning (Domain 4).

What is a domain covers the full set of boundaries across all five, and how scores become a tier covers how the five domain scores are combined.