Behavior analysts working in school settings often encounter a systemic mismatch: their training, identity, and professional infrastructure are organized primarily around serving students with disabilities in special education contexts, while the school systems they work within have much broader behavioral needs that extend into general education, staff development, administrative coaching, and systems-level intervention. BCBAs who understand how to function effectively across these contexts — not just within the narrowly defined special education lane — have the potential to be movement setters: professionals who shift how entire school systems approach behavior, learning, and equity.
Provider: BehaviorLive — via Missouri Association for Behavior Analysis
Take This Course →Including ethics, supervision, and topics like this one. New live CEU every Wednesday.
Join Free →All too often Behavior Analyst are restricted to special education setting in their roles in early childhood – 12 school settings. Such roles are limited to working with children with developmental delay and/or emotional disturbances. The science is inconsistently applied to other structures of the system such as staff training on diversity and equity, administrative coaching, and the general education setting. As schools have increased their awareness for the need of behavior resources, BCBAs are being hired to support the general education side. Despite one's dreams and expectations, most BCBAs in this role function as unethical firefighters instead of strategic and ethical scientists. This workshop is designed to provide BCBAs who are in education (or considering to enter the education setting) the structure on how to navigate the nuances of education when working in general education verses special education. This workshop will discuss the need of process and practice norms that must occur to be effective and ethical in the educational setting. Participants will have the opportunity to draft their own process with key considerations.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 2 | Supervision |
As a native of the north suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, Charda'e moved to St. Louis, Missouri to obtain a double major Bachelor's degree in Psychology and Human Services. In 2013, she completed her Masters of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis with an Emphasis in Autism at The Sage Colleges, and obtained her BCBA certification in the same year. Charda'e has worked in the home setting as an ABA therapist for 4 years and an ABA paraprofessional with a special education school for kindergarten through 8th grade for 3 years. Charda'e Rigdon has worked in an supervisor role for 16 years in various capacities within the educational setting from preschool through high school. Currently, she serves as an adjunct instructor for Behavior Analysis course work at two Missouri universities and leads a team of behavior analysts in supporting a school district on the general education side with a staff growth capacity focus in meeting the educational needs of all students.
Side-by-side comparison with a clinical decision framework
Research-backed educational guide for behavior analysts
Research-backed answers to common clinical questions
All behavior-analytic intervention is individualized. The information on this page is for educational purposes and does not constitute clinical advice. Treatment decisions should be informed by the best available published research, individualized assessment, and obtained with the informed consent of the client or their legal guardian. Behavior analysts are responsible for practicing within the boundaries of their competence and adhering to the BACB Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts.