Functional Behavior Assessment in Connecticut: What It Is and When to Request One

Your child is getting sent to the principal's office two or three times a week. The school talks about behavior as a discipline issue. But you suspect — or a pediatrician has suggested — that the behavior is a symptom of something the school hasn't addressed. A Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) is the tool that turns "this kid acts out" into "here is what is driving the behavior and what we can do about it." Here is how it works in Connecticut.

What a Functional Behavior Assessment Actually Does

An FBA is not a punishment and it is not a way to document that your child has behavior problems. It is an assessment designed to understand the function of a behavior — the reason the behavior occurs and what purpose it serves for the student.

Behaviors happen for reasons. A child who bolts from the classroom may be avoiding a sensory experience that is overwhelming. A child who disrupts lessons may be communicating that the work is too hard. A child who hits peers may be seeking attention in the only way they know how. Without understanding the function, any intervention is a guess.

A proper FBA includes:

• Direct observation of the student in the settings where the behavior occurs
• Interviews with teachers, parents, and (when appropriate) the student
• Record review — prior discipline records, academic data, previous assessments
• Behavior rating scales completed by multiple respondents
• Hypothesis development — a clear statement of what the team believes is triggering and maintaining the behavior, and what the student is getting out of it (or escaping from)
• Analysis of antecedents and consequences — what happens immediately before and after the behavior

The end product is a written hypothesis about the function of the behavior that then drives the Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP). An FBA without a BIP is incomplete. An FBA that doesn't result in a hypothesis is also incomplete.

When Connecticut Schools Are Required to Conduct an FBA

Federal IDEA requires an FBA in two specific situations:

1. When a student's behavior is likely to result in a change of placement due to discipline — specifically, when the student has been removed from their placement for more than 10 consecutive school days, or when a pattern of removals amounts to a change in placement
2. As part of the evaluation for a student whose disability-related behavior is a concern

Connecticut follows IDEA on these mandates. However, schools cannot use "we haven't hit the threshold" as a reason to refuse an FBA when behavior is clearly interfering with your child's learning or the learning of others. If behavior is affecting educational performance, it is an area of suspected disability that should be assessed as part of a comprehensive evaluation.

You can request an FBA in writing at any time. A request framed as "I would like the district to conduct a Functional Behavior Assessment as part of [child's name]'s evaluation, given that their behavior is significantly affecting their ability to access instruction" is appropriate. The district must respond to that request and either conduct the assessment or provide Prior Written Notice explaining why they are declining.

Who Conducts the FBA in Connecticut

There is no single credential required to conduct an FBA in Connecticut, which means quality varies considerably. An FBA can be conducted by a school psychologist, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), a special education teacher with behavioral training, or a team combining all three. The best FBAs typically involve multiple observers across multiple settings.

If you receive an FBA report and the only data source listed is a single teacher questionnaire and one 20-minute observation, that is a thin assessment. A legitimate FBA involves sufficient observation to identify patterns — behavior that happens twice a day requires different observation depth than behavior that occurs once a week.

In Connecticut's 36 Alliance Districts, where staffing shortages are a documented ongoing problem — flagged specifically in the 2026 WestEd review — you may encounter situations where the district does not have a BCBA on staff and relies on psychologists or special education teachers with less behavioral training. If the FBA results feel superficial, you have the right to request an Independent Educational Evaluation that includes a behavioral component.

Connecting the FBA to the IEP and BIP

In Connecticut, the FBA feeds directly into two documents: the Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) and the IEP itself.

The BIP outlines specific strategies for preventing the behavior from occurring (antecedent interventions), teaching the student a replacement behavior that serves the same function (replacement behavior instruction), and responding consistently when the behavior does occur (consequence strategies). The BIP should never be primarily punitive — an FBA-driven BIP focuses on skill building, not punishment.

The IEP should reflect the behavioral goals identified through the FBA process. If the FBA finds that the student's behavior functions as an escape from nonpreferred tasks, an IEP goal around task tolerance or self-regulation is appropriate. If the behavior functions as attention-seeking, a goal around appropriate attention-getting strategies makes sense.

One issue to watch for in Connecticut PPT meetings: sometimes the FBA findings are discussed verbally but the BIP doesn't make it into the formal IEP document. The BIP should be attached to the IEP and must be part of what gets implemented and monitored. If a teacher or aide who works with your child daily doesn't know about or isn't following the BIP, the plan is not being implemented.

What to Ask at the PPT When an FBA Is Presented

When the team presents FBA results, these are the questions that help you evaluate whether the assessment was meaningful:

• How many observation sessions were conducted, and in which settings?
• Who conducted the observations?
• What was the identified function of the behavior — what does the student appear to be seeking or avoiding?
• How does the proposed BIP directly address that function?
• What replacement behavior will the student be explicitly taught?
• How will we measure whether the BIP is working?
• What happens if the BIP is not producing results within a defined timeframe?

If the team cannot answer those questions clearly, the FBA may need more depth before the BIP is written.

Recording PPT Meetings in Connecticut

Connecticut has a two-party consent law (CGS § 52-570d) that generally prohibits recording a conversation without the consent of all parties. This is relevant when you want to record a PPT meeting where an FBA is being presented and discussed.

However, federal case law — specifically E.H. v. Tirozzi (D. Conn. 1990) — established that Connecticut districts must permit recording if a parent demonstrates it is necessary for meaningful participation, for example if the parent has a disability that makes note-taking difficult, or if the volume and complexity of information being presented makes comprehension of important FBA findings difficult without a recording.

The practical approach: notify the district in advance that you intend to record the PPT meeting. Put it in writing before the meeting date. This eliminates the two-party consent issue and creates a record if the district objects.

The Connecticut IEP & 504 Blueprint includes FBA request letters, BIP review checklists, and guidance on what a compliant Connecticut behavior intervention plan must contain.

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