Rethinking the Role of BCBAs in Schools

When schools think about hiring a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), they often have one of two things in mind:

👩‍⚕️ Supervising RBTs who support individual students with significant behavioral challenges
📋 Conducting Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs) and writing Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs)

These are important—no doubt about it. But if that’s where the School BCBA role ends, we’re missing a much bigger opportunity.

🔍 What if BCBAs didn’t have to wait for things to go wrong?
And what if they supported more than just the highest-needs students receiving special education services?

Imagine the impact of using BCBA expertise proactively—before behaviors escalate, before teams feel stuck, and before staff burnout sets in. Can you picture it? Isn’t it wonderful?

As someone who has partnered with schools and districts across Washington—consulting on special education programs, coaching educators, and building classroom systems—I’ve seen firsthand how much more powerful this work becomes when it’s preventative instead of reactive.

Here are a few ways schools can get ahead of the curve:

✨ Give your BCBA space to support classrooms directly:
Instead of waiting for Tier 3 referrals, BCBAs can help design and fine-tune Tier 1 and Tier 2 systems—so students get the support they need earlier, and staff have more tools in their toolbox to do their jobs well.

✨ Invest in data systems that actually work:
BCBAs are experts at designing systems to track behavior trends at the classroom or grade level—not just for individual students—and they can teach teams how to use this data to inform their day-to-day practice. When educators can begin identifying patterns and analyzing behavior on their own, it builds both capacity and confidence.

✨ Prioritize proactive coaching and training:
BCBAs are excellent at supporting educators with real-time strategies—like how to reinforce expected behaviors, respond to refusals, and create classroom environments that reduce the need for reactive plans. A smoothly-running classroom helps everyone thrive.

🙋‍♀️ But wait—isn’t there more?
There is so much more. But I’ve opted not to make this list a mile long—because I could truly write all day about the proactive supports BCBAs can offer. In schools, there are not enough hours in the day, and not enough BCBAs in the world, to support every student one-on-one. SYSTEMS are where we can make a real and lasting impact.

And let’s be honest: if your BCBA spends most of their time responding to crisis behavior or programming for one student at a time, your system isn’t working—for them or your students.

If you're curious about how BCBAs can support a more preventative, systems-level approach in your school or district, let’s talk.

📩 Shoot me an email or connect with me on social media.