Behavior Intervention Plan Examples and Free Template for School Teams
A behavior intervention plan (BIP) is a written plan that tells the adults around a student what to change, what to teach, and how to respond, based on why the behavior is happening. This page explains what goes in one, how to write one with your team, five sample plans organized by function, a free template you can print from this page, and how to check that the plan is actually being run.
What is a behavior intervention plan?
A behavior intervention plan is a written, individualized plan built from the results of a functional behavior assessment (FBA). The FBA finds what keeps a behavior going. The BIP says what the team will do about it: what the problem behavior is, why it is happening, and which behavior the student will be taught to use instead (Michigan Department of Education, 2024). The plan teaches a replacement behavior that serves the same purpose as the behavior of concern (Michigan Department of Education, 2024), and it is designed from what the FBA found about the behavior's function (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 626).
What does BIP stand for? BIP stands for behavior intervention plan. Some districts and states use other names, such as behavior support plan. Check the form your district uses, because the legal and paperwork steps follow your district's procedures.
Who writes it: a team. For students with an IEP, the IEP team leads the process and includes parents, teachers, support staff and, when appropriate, the student (Michigan Department of Education, 2024). A school BCBA may run the assessment and draft the plan, but the plan belongs to the people who will carry it out.
What a behavior intervention plan includes
A usable BIP answers the same eight questions every time. If a section is empty, the person running the plan will fill it in with a guess.
- Target behavior, defined so two people would count it the same way. What it looks like and what it does not include. Michigan's fact sheet names the problem behavior as part of the core of a BIP (Michigan Department of Education, 2024).
- What the FBA found. The hypothesis about function: what the student gets or avoids when the behavior happens (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 626).
- Setting events and triggers. The conditions that make the behavior more likely, and what usually happens right before it. Cooper and colleagues note that the term setting event describes the same kind of environmental variables they classify as motivating operations (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 373).
- Prevention. What adults change before the behavior starts.
- Replacement behavior and teaching. The skill that gets the student the same result, and when and how it will be taught. Cooper and colleagues describe functional communication training as teaching an alternative response that produces the same reinforcer the problem behavior produced (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 621).
- Response plan. What each adult does when the replacement behavior happens, and what each adult does when the problem behavior happens.
- Data plan. What gets counted, by whom, how often, and when the team meets to look at it. The FBA is not finished when the plan starts: function can change and the plan can stop working, so monitoring continues (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 642).
- Who does what, and training. Names, roles, and how each person learns the plan. Treatment procedures need to be described in enough detail that others can train on them and judge whether they were carried out (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 227).
The competing behavior pathway
The pathway puts the plan on one page. Read the top row left to right to see why the behavior works for the student. Then read the bottom row to see the two behaviors the plan builds: the replacement behavior, which earns the same result as the problem behavior, and the desired behavior, which is the longer-term goal.
Competing behavior pathway
A setting event makes the behavior more likely. An antecedent sets it off. The problem behavior follows, and the maintaining consequence keeps it going. The plan teaches a replacement behavior that follows the same antecedent and earns the same result faster and with less effort than the problem behavior. Over time the student moves toward the desired behavior.
BIP vs IEP: what is the difference?
An IEP is the student's special education program. A BIP is one targeted plan inside or alongside it that deals with a specific behavior. The two documents do different jobs:
| Topic | IEP | BIP |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | The written special education program for a student with a disability | A written plan for one behavior that gets in the way of learning |
| What it covers | Present levels, goals, services, accommodations | The behavior, why it happens, what adults change, what the student is taught, how the team responds |
| Where the law speaks to it | 34 CFR 300.324: for a child whose behavior impedes the child's learning or that of others, the IEP team must consider positive behavioral interventions and supports and other strategies | 34 CFR 300.530(f): after certain disciplinary changes of placement, the IEP team conducts an FBA (unless one was done before) and implements a BIP, or reviews and modifies the existing BIP |
| Built from | Evaluation data and the team's decisions | The FBA |
| Who can have one | A student found eligible for special education | Any student having difficulty with behavior, according to Michigan's state guidance |
| Measured with | IEP goals and progress reports | A data plan for the specific behavior and the replacement skill |
Sources: 34 CFR 300.324(a)(2)(i) and 300.530(f)(1) (eCFR, current text); Michigan Department of Education (2024).
If the behavior goals in the IEP and the data in the BIP do not describe the same behavior, the team cannot tell whether either one is working. For writing the IEP side, see IEP behavior goal examples.
Can you have a behavior intervention plan without an IEP?
Yes. Michigan's state fact sheet says BIPs are not created only for students with IEPs or 504 plans, and that any child having difficulty with behavior can have one (Michigan Department of Education, 2024). For a student with an IEP or a 504 plan, the team decides whether an FBA and a BIP are needed (Michigan Department of Education, 2024).
The federal IDEA language applies to children with disabilities. Under 34 CFR 300.324(a)(2)(i), an IEP team must consider positive behavioral interventions and supports for a child whose behavior impedes learning. Under 34 CFR 300.530(f)(1), when a change of placement follows a code of conduct violation that is found to be a manifestation of the disability, the IEP team conducts an FBA (unless one was done before) and implements a BIP, or reviews and modifies the existing plan.
For a general education student, the rules and forms come from your state and district, not from IDEA. Ask your district for its procedure before you promise a family a specific process.
How to write a behavior intervention plan, step by step
From assessment to a plan that is running and being reviewed
Seven steps in order: define the behavior, run the FBA, write the hypothesis, build the plan with the team, train the people who run it, check fidelity and data, then review and revise. The team returns to step 6 on its review date.
Step 1. Define the behavior.
Write what it looks like and what it does not include, in words anyone could use to count it. "Disruptive" is not countable. "Calls out without raising a hand during teacher talk" is.
Step 2. Run the FBA.
An FBA gathers information about the purposes a behavior serves (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 626). Plan on direct observation, not only interviews. The sequence in Cooper's chapter includes testing hypotheses using functional analysis and ends with developing intervention options based on the function of the behavior (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 641). Skipping the assessment means choosing strategies without knowing the function. Best practice for treating problem behavior begins with an assessment to determine the behavior's function (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 583). For the full assessment process, see the functional behavior assessment guide. To see how the two kinds of assessment differ, see FBA vs functional analysis in schools.
Step 3. Write the hypothesis.
Use one sentence: "When [what happens right before], [student] does [behavior], and gets or avoids [result]." If you cannot write it from your data, collect more data before you write strategies. The tools in behavior data systems cover ABC observations.
Step 4. Choose strategies that match the function.
Match prevention, teaching and response to the hypothesis. Some common choices do harm when they do not match: time-out, in-school or out-of-school suspension, and planned ignoring are contraindicated for escape-maintained behavior, and reprimands, discussion or counseling are contraindicated for attention-maintained behavior (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 642). If the interview points to a medical issue, such as chronic ear infections, other assessments come before a fuller FBA (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 642).
Step 5. Write the plan with the people who will run it.
Come with your draft and your ideas, and ask questions so the team writes it together.
Step 6. Train the people who run it.
Give each adult the plan, the one-sentence hypothesis so they know why each step is there, a short demonstration of the steps, practice with feedback, and a follow-up observation. Handing over a document is the weak version. Traditional didactic staff training has generally not proven particularly effective, and Parsons, Rollyson, and Reid (2012) describe a behavioral skills training approach with on-the-job follow-up. For school staff, see behavior skills training for school staff.
Step 7. Set the data plan and the review date.
Pick one number for the problem behavior and one for the replacement behavior. Write who collects it, when, and the date the team will look at it.
Want the whole process, from FBA through a plan staff can run? Build this as a system for your whole caseload.
For a deeper walk through the bridge from assessment to plan, see FBA to BIP.
Behavior intervention plan examples by function
These five sample plans are composites written for this page. They are not real students. Each one starts from a hypothesis, and the strategies match it. Adapt them to your own assessment data, setting and team. Do not copy one into a student's file.
The strategy names below come from Cooper, Heron, and Heward (2020). Page numbers are given in each example.
Example 1: Escape from a hard writing task (grade 3)
| Part of the plan | What it says |
|---|---|
| Target behavior | Tears or crumples the paper and pushes materials off the desk during independent writing. One count each time paper is torn or materials land on the floor. |
| Hypothesis | When Jordan is given a multi-sentence writing task, Jordan tears the paper and pushes materials, and the task is delayed or taken away (escape). |
| Replacement behavior | Shows a break card or a help card. |
| Prevention | Cut the task into two-sentence chunks. Start with two or three quick requests Jordan reliably does, then give the writing chunk right after (a high-probability request sequence; Cooper et al., 2020, p. 619). Give a short break on a schedule, before the behavior starts (noncontingent escape; Cooper et al., 2020, p. 616). Fade the scheduled breaks over time because noncontingent escape can disrupt instruction (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 619). |
| Teaching | Teach the card in short lessons during calm times, then practice during real work. Functional communication training teaches a response that earns what the problem behavior earned (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 621). |
| Response when the replacement happens | Honor it right away: a two-minute break or the help requested, then back to the next small chunk. |
| Response when the problem behavior happens | Stay calm, point to the card, offer the next small step. Tearing paper does not end the task. Do not use time-out, sending Jordan out, or planned ignoring, which are contraindicated for escape-maintained behavior (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 642). Escape extinction means the behavior no longer produces removal of the demand (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 584), and an increase in the behavior at first is possible (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 587), so the team agrees in advance on a safety plan. |
| Data plan | Count tears per writing period. Count card uses per writing period. Record the percent of the writing chunk finished. Look at it every week at the grade-level meeting. |
Example 2: Attention from the teacher (grade 5)
| Part of the plan | What it says |
|---|---|
| Target behavior | Calls out without raising a hand during teacher talk. One count for each call-out that is a word or phrase said at a volume heard across the room. |
| Hypothesis | When the teacher is talking to the whole class, Amari calls out, and the teacher looks, answers or reminds Amari (attention). |
| Replacement behavior | Raises a hand, or puts a card on the corner of the desk, to ask for attention. |
| Prevention | Give attention freely and often on a clock, before the call-out: a quick check-in or a few words every few minutes (noncontingent reinforcement removes the motivation to work for that attention; Cooper et al., 2020, p. 615). |
| Teaching | Practice hand raising with a partner for two minutes at the start of the day, and let Amari practice being called on. |
| Response when the replacement happens | Answer or acknowledge a raised hand quickly. Cooper and colleagues say practitioners usually find differential reinforcement of alternative behavior the easiest of the three differential reinforcement procedures to apply (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 596). |
| Response when the problem behavior happens | A short neutral redirect to the card, with no lecture. Reprimands, discussion or counseling are contraindicated for attention-maintained behavior (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 642). Everyone who works with Amari uses the same redirect. |
| Data plan | Count call-outs and hand raises in the same 30-minute block, three days a week. Review with the teacher every Friday. |
Example 3: Getting a preferred item (kindergarten)
| Part of the plan | What it says |
|---|---|
| Target behavior | Grabs a toy or tablet out of a peer's hands during choice time. One count per grab. |
| Hypothesis | When a peer has the toy or tablet Mateo wants, Mateo grabs it, and gets it (tangible). |
| Replacement behavior | Says or signs "my turn, please" and holds out a hand. |
| Prevention | Show a visual schedule of whose turn comes next. Give Mateo a scheduled turn with the item at set times, so the item is available without grabbing (noncontingent reinforcement with positive reinforcement; Cooper et al., 2020, p. 615). |
| Teaching | Teach the request in short practice rounds before choice time, with an adult playing the peer. Functional communication training uses differential reinforcement of alternative behavior to teach a response that earns the same reinforcer (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 621). |
| Response when the replacement happens | Give the item, or the next turn on the schedule, right after the request. |
| Response when the problem behavior happens | Block the grab safely, return the item to the peer, and prompt the request. Mateo gets the item only after the request. |
| Data plan | Count grabs and requests per choice period. Review every two weeks. |
Example 4: Automatic reinforcement (grade 2)
| Part of the plan | What it says |
|---|---|
| Target behavior | Chews the collar of the shirt during seatwork. Checked every two minutes: is the collar in the mouth right now, yes or no. |
| Hypothesis | The behavior happens in many settings, including when alone, and does not depend on what adults or peers do. The hypothesis is that the chewing produces its own sensory result (automatic reinforcement). |
| Replacement behavior | Chews a chewable item the team picks with the student, during seatwork. |
| Prevention | First check with the team and the family for medical causes. If an interview points to a medical issue, other assessments come first (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 642). Give access to the chewable item before seatwork starts. An enriched environment is most often applied to behavior maintained by automatic positive reinforcement (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 623). |
| Teaching | Teach Riley to take the item from a pouch, use it, and put it away. Practice before each seatwork block for the first week. |
| Response when the replacement happens | Quiet acknowledgement: a thumbs up. |
| Response when the problem behavior happens | A gesture toward the pouch. No audible reminder in front of peers. |
| Data plan | Percent of two-minute checks with the collar in the mouth, three days a week, graphed every Friday. |
Example 5: Leaving class to avoid lecture (grade 9)
| Part of the plan | What it says |
|---|---|
| Target behavior | Leaves the classroom without permission during teacher-led instruction. One count each time the student crosses the doorway without a pass. |
| Hypothesis | During 15 minutes or more of teacher talk, Devon leaves the room, which ends exposure to the lecture (escape). |
| Replacement behavior | Asks for a break pass quietly, or uses a discreet signal agreed with the teacher. |
| Prevention | Give a scheduled break pass at planned points in class (noncontingent escape; Cooper et al., 2020, p. 616). Plan to fade the schedule because noncontingent escape can disrupt instruction (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 619). |
| Teaching | A 10-minute conversation with Devon, then rehearsal: how to ask, where to go, how long, how to come back. Functional communication training builds a response that serves the same function (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 621). |
| Response when the replacement happens | The teacher says yes quickly and without comment. Devon takes the break at the agreed place and returns. |
| Response when the problem behavior happens | The teacher follows the school's safety procedure for a student leaving the room and does not make the student the subject of discussion. Suspension is contraindicated for escape-maintained behavior (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 642). |
| Data plan | Count leaves and pass requests per class period. Record minutes in the room. Review at the team meeting every two weeks. |
More function-matched strategy ideas live in the functional behavior assessment guide. Use the free BIP generator when you want a plan drafted from your own assessment details.
Start with the FA, then write the BIP
A plan is only as good as the hypothesis under it. If the function is unclear after your FBA, a functional analysis can test it before you write strategies. The free School FA Starter Kit has functional analysis task analyses, datasheets, and graph pages, so you can test the hypothesis first and then build the plan from what you find. For the step from results to plan, see FBA to BIP.
Free behavior intervention plan template
Copy or print this template and fill it in with your team. Each row says what to write. It follows the eight questions in "What a behavior intervention plan includes" above. Use the plan only after an FBA.
Download the printable BIP template (PDF) with room to write, a fidelity checklist and a team signature block.
Behavior Intervention Plan
| Field | What to write | Your plan |
|---|---|---|
| Student, grade, date written, review date | Names and dates. Set the review date now, no later than the next team meeting. | |
| Team members | Everyone who runs or reviews the plan, with roles. | |
| 1. Target behavior | What it looks like, what it does not include. Countable by two people. | |
| 2. FBA summary | Sources used (interview, observation, data), dates, what you saw. | |
| 3. Hypothesis | When [before], [student] does [behavior], and gets or avoids [result]. | |
| 4. Setting events and triggers | Conditions that make the behavior more likely, and what happens right before it. | |
| 5. Prevention | What adults change before the behavior starts. | |
| 6. Replacement behavior | The skill that earns the same result. Easier than the problem behavior. | |
| 7. Teaching plan | Who teaches, when, how long, how often, how practice is set up. | |
| 8. Response when the replacement happens | Exactly what each adult does, right away. | |
| 9. Response when the problem behavior happens | Exactly what each adult does. Include the safety plan. | |
| 10. Data plan | What is counted, who counts, when, and the number that tells you the plan is working. | |
| 11. Who does what | Each adult, each step, and the date each person is trained. | |
| 12. Fidelity check | Who observes, how often, which checklist. | |
| 13. Review | Date, who attends, what you decide if the data do not move. |
How to fill it out: work in order from row 1 to row 13. Do not write row 5 until rows 1 to 4 are filled from your assessment data. Write rows 8 and 9 in verbs a new staff member could follow, for example "says 'Yes, take two minutes' and starts the timer." Keep the plan short enough for a new staff member to read in one sitting, because treatments that are simple, precise and brief are more likely to be delivered consistently (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 227).
Fidelity checklist (copy this under the plan)
| Plan step | Done? (yes / no / not needed) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Prevention step 1 was in place before the trigger | ||
| Prevention step 2 was in place before the trigger | ||
| Replacement behavior was prompted or reminded when planned | ||
| Replacement behavior was followed by the planned response | ||
| Problem behavior was followed by the planned response | ||
| Data were recorded | ||
| Percent of steps done: (yes) divided by (yes + no) |
For school BCBAs
You will often run the assessment, draft the plan, and then depend on other adults to carry it out. Draft from your FBA data, then take the draft to the teacher, paraprofessional and specialists who will run it and revise it with them. Plan the training and the first fidelity observation at the same time you write the plan, and put both dates on the template. When a plan is not working, read the fidelity checklist and the data together before you change strategies. Your role also includes knowing your district's forms and timelines, because the BIP often sits inside an IEP team process.
More on the role: BCBA in schools.
For school psychologists
School psychologists are often on the team that conducts the FBA and writes the BIP, and they know the evaluation and IEP process well. This page's template works as a shared document. Use the FBA summary and hypothesis rows to record the assessment, and use the teaching, response and data rows to keep the plan something staff can run. If you work with a BCBA, agree early who collects which data and who observes fidelity.
One legal point to know: when a change of placement follows a code of conduct violation that the team finds to be a manifestation of the child's disability, IDEA requires the IEP team to conduct an FBA, unless one was done before, and to implement a BIP or review and modify the existing one (34 CFR 300.530(f)(1), eCFR current text). Check your state and district guidance for anything beyond that.
Common mistakes: why some plans never get run
A plan that nobody runs cannot help the student. These are the common ways it goes wrong.
- The plan is delivered as a document. In Dodge's (2026) scenario, one teacher gets a fifteen-minute meeting in September, another gets the plan by email, and a third is never trained. The student then gets different responses from different adults. Dodge calls five adults responding five different ways to the same behavior the part that should worry a team.
- The BCBA does not have time or support to train. A qualitative study of BCBAs who work with school staff found they were not given adequate time or resources to train, and that they reported a lack of support from administrators (Max & Lambright, 2021).
- The plan was written without the people who run it. Plans that look right on paper can be impossible to run when one teacher is dividing attention across a class. Ask the team what is realistic before you finalize.
- The strategies do not match the function. Time-out for escape and reprimands for attention are on Cooper's contraindicated list (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 642).
- Planned ignoring is used on everything. Extinction can bring a burst of the behavior at first (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 587). Staff who expect the burst can plan for it, and staff who do not may give in when it comes.
- The plan is long. All else equal, a simple and brief treatment is applied more accurately and consistently than a complex and extended one (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 227).
- Nobody checks. Treatment drift happens when the plan is applied differently than it was at the start (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 227).
How to check that a BIP is being run (fidelity)
Treatment integrity is the extent to which a plan is implemented as planned (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 226). It matters for two reasons. If the plan is not done as written, a team cannot tell whether the plan failed or was never really tried. And when the plan is applied inconsistently, the results are hard to interpret with confidence (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 226).
A short fidelity routine for a school team:
- Write the steps as a checklist. Use the fidelity checklist above, one line per step.
- Observe a short sample. Watch one block of the time the behavior usually happens, and tick each step: done, not done, not needed.
- Calculate percent of steps done. Done divided by done plus not done.
- Give feedback right after the observation. In one study of special education teachers, performance feedback increased the integrity of the antecedent components of a behavior support plan for 4 of 5 teachers and of the consequence components for all 5 (Codding et al., 2005). In another study of 45 elementary students referred for consultation, performance feedback was associated with better treatment implementation and child outcomes than weekly follow-up interviews or an emphasis on commitment (Noell et al., 2005).
- Simplify what staff cannot keep up. Standardizing the plan and giving criterion-based training and practice enhances integrity (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 227).
- Read the data and the checklist together. If fidelity is low, retrain and simplify before you rewrite strategies. If fidelity is high and the data do not move, go back to the assessment, because the function may have been read wrongly or may have changed (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 642).
Your data system should hold both numbers. See behavior data systems for ABC data and graphs, and behavior skills training for school staff for training.
If you are a BCBA in schools carrying this alone on a large caseload, the hard part is the system that gets the plan run. Learn about the Transformation Program.
For the school BCBA role itself, see BCBA in schools.
Not sure of the function yet? Get the free School FA Starter Kit for functional analysis task analyses, datasheets, and graph pages.
School BCBA resources
Find the next practical step
Want a repeatable system for your whole caseload? See the School BCBA Systems Transformation Program.
Behavior intervention plan FAQ
What does BIP stand for?
BIP stands for behavior intervention plan. Some districts and states use other names, such as behavior support plan, so check your district's form.
What is the difference between an IEP and a BIP?
An IEP is a student's special education program: present levels, goals, services and accommodations. A BIP is a plan for one behavior that gets in the way of learning, built from an FBA. For a child whose behavior impedes learning, the IEP team must consider positive behavioral interventions and supports (34 CFR 300.324(a)(2)(i)). A BIP spells out what adults will change, what the student is taught, and how the team responds.
How do I write a good behavior intervention plan?
Define the behavior in countable terms, run an FBA, write a one-sentence hypothesis, choose prevention, teaching and response strategies that match the function, write the plan with the people who will run it, train them, and set a data plan and review date. Then check fidelity. The steps are laid out in this page's step-by-step section.
How do I fill out a behavior intervention plan?
Use the free template on this page and work in order. Fill in the behavior, the FBA summary and the hypothesis first. Write prevention, the replacement behavior, teaching, and the two response plans after that, in words a new staff member could follow. Finish with the data plan, who does what, the fidelity check and the review date.
What do behavior intervention plans include?
A defined target behavior, what the FBA found about why it happens, prevention, a replacement behavior and how it will be taught, what adults do when the replacement and the problem behavior happen, a data plan, who does what, and a review date. Michigan's state fact sheet lists the problem behavior, why it is happening, and how to replace it as the core (Michigan Department of Education, 2024).
What are some examples of behavioral interventions?
Examples that match the function include a high-probability request sequence and scheduled breaks for escape-maintained behavior, scheduled attention and differential reinforcement for attention-maintained behavior, and functional communication training such as teaching a student to ask for a turn (Cooper et al., 2020, pp. 615, 616, 619, 621). See the five sample plans on this page.
Can you provide an example of a behavior support plan?
Yes. The five examples on this page cover escape, attention, tangible and automatic functions. Each lists a target behavior, hypothesis, replacement behavior, prevention, teaching, responses and a data plan. They are composite examples, so adapt them to your own assessment.
Can you have a behavior intervention plan without an IEP?
Yes. Michigan's state guidance says any child having difficulty with behavior can have a BIP, not only students with IEPs or 504 plans (Michigan Department of Education, 2024). IDEA's specific requirements, including 34 CFR 300.530(f), apply to children with disabilities. For other students, your state and district set the process.
Can a BIP be written without an FBA?
A team can write one, but it would be guessing at the function. After certain disciplinary changes of placement, IDEA requires the IEP team to conduct an FBA, unless one was done before, and to implement a BIP or review the existing one (34 CFR 300.530(f)(1)). In general, treatment begins with an assessment of the behavior's function (Cooper et al., 2020, p. 583).
Get plans that staff actually run
The School BCBA Transformation Program helps you build the system that gets plans run across your caseload.
January 14 to February 25, 2027. Six Thursdays, 6 to 8 PM Pacific Time. No session Feb 4, 2027. Applications close Thursday, January 7, 2027.