We continue our exploration of Tier 3 support by focusing on the way systems make it possible to get students the level of support they really need. Joining us today are Mara Lynaugh and Jess Olson.

• Mara is a member of our PBISApps training team. She brings to the team over 25 years of experience in public education as a special education teacher and a Student Services coach where she supported schools to implement multi-tiered systems and practices focused on meeting students’ social, emotional, behavioral, and mental health needs. Her passion for helping educators, students, families, and community partners create learning environments where every student achieves their goals.

• Jess is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and doctoral student in Special Education at the University of Utah. Her work centers on helping schools implement function-based, individualized behavior support with strong alignment to PBIS and a clear focus on teacher implementation fidelity. Before this, Jess spent several years as a district BCBA, partnering with educators and school teams across general and special education to design behavior support plans, coach implementation, and build sustainable routines that fit the realities of busy classrooms.

Tune in to hear Jess tell the story about how she and her colleagues implemented a system of support that allowed the three of them to manage their work in a district of 60,000 students spread across 92 schools. It’s an approach that resulted in fewer students referred to special education for their behavior and more students getting the support they needed right within their general education classrooms.

For more information about the resources shared in this episode, check out the following links:

• Expert Instruction Ep. 57: Mythbusters — Functional Behavioral Assessment is Only for Special Education

• Additional resources from Jess’ story including powepoint presentations, meeting templates, data review questions, and more

• Basic FBA Training