Functional Behavior Assessment in Indiana: What Parents Need to Know

Your child is getting sent to the office repeatedly, or the school is talking about a more restrictive placement because of behavior. Someone mentions a "functional behavior assessment" and you're nodding along without being sure what that actually means or what it requires the school to do next. Here is what an FBA is, when Indiana schools must conduct one, and how to make sure the results actually change something for your child.

What a Functional Behavior Assessment Is

A Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) is a structured evaluation that identifies the function — the underlying reason — behind a specific behavior. Behavior exists for reasons. A student who bolts from class is communicating something: sensory overload, anxiety about the work, a conflict with another student, a need for attention. A student who hits is communicating something different than a student who shuts down.

An FBA:

• Identifies the specific behavior of concern (operationally defined — not "acts out" but "leaves assigned seat without permission more than five times per period")
• Gathers data through direct observation, interviews with teachers and parents, and record review
• Identifies the antecedents (what happens right before the behavior) and consequences (what happens right after)
• Determines the function: sensory, escape, attention, or access to something tangible
• Produces a hypothesis about why the behavior is occurring

Without knowing the function, a behavior plan is just guessing. Punishing an escape-motivated behavior by removing a student from class actually rewards the behavior. An FBA prevents that.

When Indiana Schools Must Conduct an FBA

Under IDEA and Indiana's 511 IAC Article 7, there are situations that require an FBA:

In disciplinary situations: When a student with a disability is removed from their placement for more than 10 school days in a school year (cumulative), and the district conducts a Manifestation Determination Review (MDR), the district must conduct an FBA — or review an existing one — if the behavior was a manifestation of the disability. Indiana school staff sometimes treat the MDR and FBA as separate optional steps. They are not.

Before a significant placement change: If the district is proposing to move a student to a more restrictive setting because of behavior, best practice under Article 7 is to complete an FBA first. A placement change without understanding the behavioral function is hard to justify.

When behavior is preventing learning: If a student's behavior is impeding their learning or the learning of others, the IEP team is required to "consider" positive behavioral interventions, supports, and strategies — which typically means an FBA if one hasn't been done.

In practice, Indiana districts vary widely. Well-resourced suburban districts (Hamilton Southeastern, Carmel Clay) may have board-certified behavior analysts (BCBAs) on staff. Rural cooperatives may rely on consultants who rotate between buildings and schedule FBAs months out. Knowing when one is legally required helps you push for timeliness.

How to Request an FBA

Parents can request an FBA as part of a special education evaluation or as a standalone assessment if behavior is a current concern. Submit your request in writing to the Director of Special Education. Your request should:

• Identify the behaviors of concern
• Note how those behaviors are affecting your child's educational performance
• Request that an FBA be completed as part of the next CCC meeting or as an assessment prior to placement discussions

The district must respond with a Prior Written Notice within 10 business days either agreeing to conduct the FBA or explaining why they are declining.

If the district has already done an FBA and you believe it was inadequate — conducted by observation alone with no parent interview, for example, or based on only a few days of data — you can request an Independent Educational Evaluation that includes a behavioral assessment by an outside evaluator.

The Indiana IEP & 504 Blueprint covers the full FBA-to-BIP pipeline — what an FBA should include, how to review a behavior intervention plan before you sign, and what to do when a school's behavior plan isn't working. Get the complete toolkit

FBA Results Must Connect to a Behavior Intervention Plan

An FBA is only useful if it produces a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) that the school actually implements. The BIP should:

• Define the target behavior clearly
• State the function identified by the FBA
• Describe proactive strategies (changing the environment or routine to reduce triggering conditions)
• Describe teaching replacement behaviors (what skill the student will use instead)
• Describe how staff will respond when the behavior occurs and when it doesn't
• Include data collection methods and a review timeline

A BIP that says "when student exhibits behavior X, staff will redirect and contact the office" is not a behavior intervention plan — it is a consequence chart. Real BIPs are function-based and teach skills.

What Parents Can Do When an FBA Is Inadequate

If the school conducted an FBA but it:

• Was based on fewer than 10–15 observations across settings
• Did not include a parent interview or home-school comparison
• Did not identify a clear function
• Was completed by someone without behavioral credentials

...you have grounds to disagree with the evaluation and request an IEE that includes a behavioral component. In Indiana, an outside BCBA or psychologist can conduct a comprehensive FBA that gives you much better data for the CCC meeting.

At the CCC, bring the outside FBA and request that it be incorporated into a revised BIP. The team must consider it. If the school refuses to revise the BIP based on independent assessment data, that is a violation you can file a state complaint about with IDOE's Office of Special Education.

One-Party Consent and Recording CCC Meetings

If your child's FBA or BIP is being discussed at a CCC meeting and you want a record of what was agreed to, Indiana is a one-party consent state for audio recording under IC 35-33.5-5-5. You can record the meeting without notifying the school. Many parents of students with significant behavioral needs do this routinely because memories of what was promised at a CCC meeting tend to differ by the time a behavior incident occurs two weeks later.

Behavior is communication. The FBA process exists to translate that communication into a plan that actually helps your child succeed at school. If your district's FBA feels thin or the resulting behavior plan isn't changing anything, the Indiana IEP & 504 Blueprint gives you the language and legal framework to push for something better.

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