Registered Behavior Technicians in Florida Public Schools: A Survey Focused on Their Training, Role, and A Self-Assessment of Effectiveness matters because it changes what a BCBA notices when decisions have to hold up in school teams and classroom routines, busy classrooms and teacher-managed routines. In Registered Behavior Technicians in Florida Public Schools: A Survey Focused on Their Training, Role, and A Self-Assessment of Effectiveness, for this course, the practical stakes show up in clearer roles, fewer duplicated efforts, and better coordinated intervention, not in abstract discussion alone.
Provider: BehaviorLive — via Florida Association of Behavior Analysis
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Join Free →With HB 795 passed in July of 2023, the Florida Legislature permits Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs) to provide services as "private instructional personnel" in public schools. As a result of this legislation, we see extensive use of RBTs in Florida schools. HB 795 calls for collaboration between behavioral professionals and school staff in offering targeted behavior analytic support for children with disabilities, but otherwise offers little guidance on expected and permitted practices. The experience of RBTs in classrooms, not surprisingly, can differ widely even within the same school district. Huge differences exist between their expertise and roles in different school districts. We find little research relating to their experiences and practices. We surveyed RBTs in Florida to obtain information on their role, training, and the programming they provide. We asked questions about using and sharing data as a placeholder for the degree to which collaborative practices were or were not in place. We asked about the children being served in terms of elopement potential and their propensity for dangerous or aggressive behaviors. We presented questions on ensuring that the RBTs felt welcomed in the public school classrooms. Finally, we sought information about the career aspirations of the RBTs. We offer a contextualization of these data within the broader array of behavior analytic services provided to children and youth in Florida. The use of RBTs as private instructional personnel is now primarily limited to Florida, but other states may soon adopt it. Consequently, we offer a series of recommendations based on the findings of this study to both Florida and non-Florida-based advocates, policymakers, and legislators.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 1 | General |
| COA | 1 | — |
| FL MH/PSY | 0 | — |
Jack Scott is the executive director of the Florida Atlantic University Center for Autism and Related Disabilities. He is an associate professor in the Department of Special Education and teaches courses on autism, inclusion, and behavior analysis. Dr. Scott received his doctoral degree from the University of Florida. His most recent book, Safeguarding your child with autism, is published by Woodbine and provides a toolkit for parents to reduce risks their child with autism will face. Dr. Scott has research interests in individualized instruction, suicide prevention for autistic people, police training and elopement prevention. He also has several grants examining the rates of participation by African American children in school autism programs and for educating parents of newly identified children with autism. As a behavior analyst, he is active in linking behavioral analysts with emerging issues in safety and autism. He serves on the boards of several charter schools and as chair of the Panel of Professional Advisors and as a board member for the Autism Society of America.
Dig into the research behind this topic — plain-English summaries written for BCBAs.
252 research articles with practitioner takeaways
233 research articles with practitioner takeaways
232 research articles with practitioner takeaways
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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.