Behaviour Intervention Plans in New Brunswick Schools: What They Are and How to Request One

When a child's behaviour is severe enough to affect their own learning or create safety concerns, schools are supposed to move beyond reactive discipline into proactive, evidence-based behaviour support. In New Brunswick, that means developing a Behaviour Intervention Plan (BIP) — typically as part of the student's broader Personalized Learning Plan.

The challenge many families face is that the school's first response to challenging behaviour is often removal (a partial-day arrangement, suspension, seclusion) rather than the structured support plan that should precede any exclusionary measure. Understanding what a proper behaviour plan looks like, and when you can demand one, is practical knowledge every parent of a child with complex needs should have.

What a Behaviour Intervention Plan Is

A Behaviour Intervention Plan is a structured, individualized document that describes:

• The specific behaviour being addressed (in observable, measurable terms — not "he's aggressive" but "he strikes peers when transitioning between activities, averaging three incidents per week")
• The function of the behaviour — what the child is getting or avoiding through the behaviour (escape, attention, sensory input, access to preferred items)
• The antecedents that reliably precede the behaviour (specific classes, transitions, crowded spaces, unexpected changes)
• Preventive strategies — changes to the environment, routine, or instruction that reduce the likelihood of the behaviour occurring
• Teaching replacement behaviours — the alternative skill the student is explicitly being taught instead of the problematic behaviour
• Response strategies — how staff consistently respond when the behaviour occurs (and what they should avoid doing)
• Measurement and data collection — how often the behaviour is tracked, by whom, and how improvement will be defined

A BIP without data collection is not a BIP — it's a list of suggestions. Behavioural improvement should be tracked systematically so the team can determine whether the plan is working or needs revision.

How BIPs Fit Into the NB PLP Framework

In New Brunswick, a BIP does not exist as a standalone document separate from the PLP. It is developed within and integrated into the student's Personalized Learning Plan, typically when the ESS team determines that the student's behaviour requires individualized, intensive support beyond classroom-level strategies.

Under the tiered intervention model:

• Tier 1: Universal classroom behaviour supports (clear routines, consistent expectations, positive reinforcement) — applies to all students
• Tier 2: Targeted, small-group supports for students showing early signs of difficulty (social skills groups, check-in/check-out systems)
• Tier 3: Individualized, intensive behaviour support — this is where a formal BIP and functional behaviour assessment live

A Tier 3 response should be triggered when Tier 1 and Tier 2 supports have been genuinely implemented, monitored with data, and found inadequate. If the school has not tracked what Tier 1 and Tier 2 strategies were tried, for how long, and with what results, they have skipped critical steps.

Who Develops the BIP

A comprehensive Behaviour Intervention Plan ideally involves:

• The classroom teacher (who observes the behaviour daily)
• The resource teacher / Education Support Teacher
• The school administrator
• The parent
• The Educational Assistant working with the student
• Where available, a school psychologist or behavioral consultant

Given New Brunswick's severe shortage of school psychologists in the Anglophone sector — approximately six positions for 70,000 students as of 2024 — many BIPs are developed without a psychologist's input. This is a practical reality but not an excuse for skipping the functional behaviour assessment component that should inform the plan.

The ISD (Integrated Service Delivery) Child and Youth Teams are an alternative clinical resource. Parents can request an ISD referral independently to bring behavioral consultation expertise into the process without waiting for the school psychologist queue.

A Simple BIP Template Structure

If you want to evaluate whether your child's school has a real plan or a placeholder, compare what you've been given to this structure:

Student Information: Name, grade, date of plan, team members

Behaviour Description:

• What does it look like? (Observable terms, not diagnostic labels)
• How often? (Baseline frequency)
• When does it typically occur?

Function of the Behaviour:

• What is the student gaining or avoiding?

Antecedent Interventions:

• What changes to environment, schedule, or instruction reduce triggers?

Replacement Behaviour:

• What specific skill is the student being explicitly taught?
• How are staff supporting the student in using this skill?

Response Protocol:

• What do staff do when the behaviour occurs?
• What do staff NOT do? (e.g., do not engage verbally, do not remove from class unless X threshold is met)

Crisis Protocol (if applicable):

• At what point does staff seek additional help?
• What are the safe, de-escalation steps?

Data Collection:

• What is being tracked, how often, and by whom?

Review Date:

• When will the team reconvene to assess progress?

What to Do When the School Responds to Behaviour with Removal

If your child is being sent home early, suspended repeatedly, or placed in an isolated space rather than being given a structured behaviour support plan:

1. Request a formal PLP review in writing, specifically naming that the current approach is exclusionary and asking what Tier 3 behaviour support has been formally implemented.

2. Ask for the data. What baseline data exists on the behaviour? What interventions have been tried, for how long, and with what results?

3. Request an ISD referral. ISD Child and Youth Teams provide behavioral consultation directly in schools. Parents can initiate this referral without waiting for the school.

4. Contact Inclusion NB. Their Social Inclusion Coordinators can attend PLP meetings and advocate for a proper behaviour support plan rather than exclusionary responses.

5. If partial-day arrangements have been imposed, request a formal written rationale from the superintendent citing Policy 323. The plan must be temporary, documented, and tied to a reintegration timeline.

The New Brunswick IEP & Support Plan Blueprint covers how to request a behaviour support plan, the exact language to use when a school is defaulting to removal, and how to initiate an ISD referral if the school's internal resources aren't delivering.

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