The BIP That Isn't Being Run
You are the school counselor on a problem-solving team. A fourth-grade student with ADHD and a documented behavior intervention plan has had 14 office referrals since September, all from one teacher's classroom during math. The plan requires a daily point sheet, a pre-correction script before math, and two scheduled breaks. The teacher has told you privately that the plan is "coddling" and that "he needs to learn to sit still like everyone else"; the point sheet has come back blank on 11 of the last 15 days. The parent has requested a meeting and has mentioned an advocate. The principal is on leave; you are the senior person in the building.
1. What is your first move, and why not the meeting first?
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First move: verify what is actually happening, in writing, before any group conversation.
- Pull the point sheets, the referral times, and the schedule. Fourteen referrals, all in one period, in one room, is a pattern that points at the interaction between the plan and the setting - not at a child who is globally dysregulated. Check what the other teachers' data show; if he is fine in science and reading, the problem is not "his ADHD."
- Do a brief, non-evaluative observation during math. Bring a stopwatch and a tally, not a judgment. You are looking for antecedents (task difficulty, transition, independent work length) and for whether pre-correction and breaks occurred.
- Then talk to the teacher one-to-one, privately, and without the parent present. A teacher who feels accused in front of a parent stops implementing entirely.
Why not the meeting first: a meeting before you know the facts puts the parent and the teacher in a contest of competing accounts, and you will be mediating vibes instead of data. Go in able to say, "Here's what I saw at 10:15."
Also flag the timeline: a plan not being implemented is a compliance issue, not just a relationship issue, and the parent's advocate will ask for exactly the records you should have already gathered.
2. In the one-to-one conversation, how do you move a teacher who believes the plan is coddling?
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Don't argue about the philosophy; change the frame and shrink the ask.
- Start with what's true for her. Fourteen referrals means her math block is being destroyed. The plan is not a favor to the student; it is the mechanism for getting her instructional time back. Lead with that.
- Reframe the breaks as antecedent management, not reward. "The two breaks aren't a prize for bad behavior - they're scheduled before the behavior, like a bathroom trip. That's why they're at fixed times."
- Separate the components so she isn't being asked to adopt everything. Ask for a two-week trial of just the pre-correction script and the point sheet, and let the team collect data on those. A small, time-bound commitment is far easier to win than a wholesale change of belief.
- Take work off her plate. Who copies the point sheet, who reviews it at the end of the day, who calls home - assign those to adults other than her.
- Be clear about the floor, kindly. "I'm not asking you to agree with the plan. I am asking that we run it for two weeks so we have data. If it doesn't work, the data will make the case for changing it - and I'll bring it to the team myself."
- Document the conversation in a supportive, factual memo, not a reprimand. If the parent's advocate asks what the school did, you want the date and the offer on record.
3. The parent meeting happens and the teacher says, "He's fine - he just needs consequences." The parent demands the plan be followed. What do you commit the school to, out loud?
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Commit only to what you can guarantee, and be specific - vagueness in this meeting becomes a complaint later.
Say out loud:
- A fidelity check. "I will observe math twice in the next two weeks and report to you in writing on whether the plan components are happening."
- A data review date. "The team will meet on [date] and look at point-sheet completion and referral counts. If the plan is being run and behavior isn't improving, we will revise it - that's a real possibility, and it's why we're collecting data."
- One point of contact. "I am your contact; email me and you'll hear back within two school days."
Do not commit to: a specific consequence for the teacher, a promise that referrals will stop, or a change in placement discussed for the first time in that room.
Also, quietly, do the compliance check: is the plan being implemented as written, and does the school have documentation? If not, the meeting's real outcome is a corrective action with a date, even if the parent doesn't ask for one. Then follow up with the parent in writing summarizing what was agreed - every commitment has a date, an owner, and a way to verify it.