Classified Staff and the Implementation of Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports: A Case Study.

This article examines classified staff members’ perceptions of their role in implementing School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) within a large urban U.S. school district, guided by normalization process theory (NPT). Findings reveal that classified staff—noncertified employees such as paraprofessionals, security personnel, and clerical workers—primarily acquire PBIS knowledge informally through secondhand communication rather than formal training, limiting their understanding of their roles and the initiative’s goals. Despite this, classified staff view themselves as integral “second-tier” implementers who actively support positive student behavior and school climate, though they are often excluded from decision-making, planning, training, and formal evaluation processes. District and school leaders acknowledge the importance of classified staff but lack consistent strategies to include them fully in PBIS efforts. The study recommends that schools and districts adopt inclusive, strategic approaches involving classified staff in all phases of school-wide initiatives to better leverage their contributions and improve implementation fidelity.