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When a school team begins talking about conducting a Functional Behavior Assessment, it is usually not because everything is going great. It is often quite the opposite. There is typically a student engaging in behavior that is unsafe or significantly interfering with their own learning or the learning of others. The student may be struggling to communicate what they need. Educators may feel exhausted, worried, frustrated, or completely unsure of what to do next. Families may

Because our littlest learners aren't just learning their ABCs. They're learning how to do school. From Behavior Specialist to TK Mom: A Full-Circle Moment For years, I've walked into classrooms with a clipboard, an observation tool, and a mission: understand what's happening in the environment and identify opportunities to better support student behavior. As a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and special education leader, I've conducted countless Functional Behavior As

How I built a seven-day onboarding experience, a year-at-a-glance professional learning plan, and daily coaching routines to develop a proactive district behavior team. You Can't Build a Proactive Behavior Team Without Investing in the People Behind It When I started as my district's first Behavior Specialist, I was a department of one. Over time, our district behavior team grew to include seven Support Assistant–Behavior (SAB) staff members who could be deployed across our n

How clear referral pathways, MTSS, and PBIS helped transform a reactive behavior team into a proactive system It Started With a Department of One When I transitioned from the classroom into the role of my district's first Behavior Specialist, the position was created to solve a very specific problem: bringing Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs) in-house. Previously, our district contracted with outside agencies to conduct FBAs. By creating a district-level position, we cou

One-on-one support is often seen as the most protective and supportive service we can offer students with extensive support needs. In my work, however, I have found that when support is provided without clear intention, it can sometimes limit the very independence we are trying to build. In this post, I share how I use schedule analysis and data to take a closer look at when one-on-one support is truly necessary, when it can be shared, and how we can intentionally plan for fa

Breaks are essential in schools, but how we define and use them matters more than we often realize. When breaks unintentionally remove expectations, they can reinforce escape-maintained behavior and undermine learning. This post explores why teaching a break must go beyond stepping away from work and instead focus on regulation, return, and resilience. A break is not about avoiding learning, it’s about pausing long enough to come back ready to engage. As educators, we are her

What happens when FBAs move from a one-person process to a shared team effort? This post explores the evolution from working in a vacuum to building collective understanding, ownership, and more inclusive environments for students. From Working in a Vacuum to Working as a Team: Rethinking the Functional Behavior Assessment Process When I first started as the first behavior specialist in my school district, there was no blueprint. There wasn’t much guidance, and there certainl

Welcome to The RegulatED Blog, where we explore what it really means to support behavior in today’s classrooms. Through reflection, research, and real-world strategies, this space is dedicated to helping educators respond with regulation, connection, and intention. Beyond the Function: Regulation, Belonging, and Doing Right by Kids As a board-certified behavior analyst and former special education teacher in a social-emotional program, I was trained to keep the function of be

Behavior intervention plans only work when they are actually implemented. BIPs at a Glance are one-page, user-friendly summaries designed to help school teams know exactly what to do, what to say, and what materials are needed to support a student throughout the day. By clearly outlining key interventions, required materials, and the escalation cycle with practical scripts, BIPs at a Glance make behavior support easier to implement with consistency, fidelity, and confidence