The full kit is available now · coaching kit launching this winter Get the free pack →

Free starter pack · sent today · 9 printable pages

Same behavior. Four different plans.

The BIP is due Friday and you’re staring at an empty box. Meet Function First: the decision tree, data sheets, and worked plans I wish someone had handed me my first year.

Get the free starter pack → See what’s inside

free · no course · no webinar · works with Google Docs, Sheets, or print

function first presents

The Starter Pack

find what it’s for, first

01 Find the function

two weeks of data, then the decision tree

02 Write the plan

worked plans with the reasoning in the margin

03 Prove it’s working

graphs and decision rules every two weeks

starter packFreesent today

Escape ✦ Attention ✦ Tangible ✦ Sensory ✦ find the function first ✦Escape ✦ Attention ✦ Tangible ✦ Sensory ✦ find the function first ✦Escape ✦ Attention ✦ Tangible ✦ Sensory ✦ find the function first ✦Escape ✦ Attention ✦ Tangible ✦ Sensory ✦ find the function first ✦

sound familiar?

Sick of starting from an empty box? This is for you.

The template came with no instructions. Your district hands you a form with empty boxes and assumes you know what belongs in them.

The samples online skip the thinking. You can find a finished plan anywhere. You can’t find why they chose that function.

Your behavior specialist covers 11 buildings. She’s great. She’s also booked until March. The plan is due either way.

The last plan didn’t work. Usually it was built for what the behavior looks like, not what it’s for.

You don’t need another training. You need the thinking written down, so you can do the part only you can do. That’s Function First.

the part nobody teaches you

Same worksheet, torn up. Four different reasons.

What you do next depends entirely on which of these is driving it, and getting that call right is most of whether the plan holds.

four functions, one decision tree ↓

Function 01 of 04

Escape

Get out of the task, the setting, or the person. The most common one, and the most often missed.

Function 02 of 04

Attention

Adult or peer. Negative attention still counts, which is why some plans backfire.

Function 03 of 04

Tangible

Access to an item or activity. Easy to confuse with attention if you only watch the consequence.

Function 04 of 04

Sensory

Automatic reinforcement. The one where the usual reinforcement systems do the least.

what you get

Organized by function, not by diagnosis.

Free · sent today

The starter pack

✓ Function decision tree. Walk your ABC data to one of the four, with the question that rules each one out.

✓ ABC and scatterplot sheets. Built so a para can fill them out accurately without a training.

Send it to me →

Available now

The full kit

✓ Worked plans for all four functions. With the reasoning in the margin.

✓ Replacement behavior bank. Matched to function and effort.

✓ Progress monitoring pack. Baseline, goal lines, fidelity checklist.

✓ The two-minute one-pager. For the gen-ed teacher.

Individual

$39

One teacher, all of their own students

Get the kit

Team

$149

Up to five staff in one building

Get the team license

School

$299

All staff in one building

Get the school license

one-time · no subscription · district licenses and printed binders by quote · purchase orders welcome

how it works

Up and running this week.

Get the free starter pack

It lands in your inbox in seconds. Print it or make a Google copy.

Collect two weeks of data

Scatterplot and quick-code ABC sheets, simple enough for a para.

Write the plan that holds

Walk the decision tree, pick a replacement, and follow the worked plan for that function.

Tools for the rest of the IEP.

IEP Compliance Command Center

Every annual review and reevaluation date, counted down and color-coded, with a 20-minute Monday routine.

$18 caseload · $59 building

Caseload edition →Building edition

The Student-Led IEP Kit

Student slides, five mini-lessons, and self-advocacy scripts.

$16

Get the kit →

The IEP Case Manager Bundle

All three together, for 20% less.

$58 ~~$73~~

Get the bundle →

coming soon

Two more tools, built the same way.

Launching early 2027

Transition and Work-Based Learning Toolkit

Turn a student’s goals into a plan, a placement, and a handoff.

Tell me when it launches

Launching this winter

Observation and Coaching Cycle Kit

A repeatable observe, reflect, and coach routine for leaders who support special education teachers.

Tell me when it launches

prefer paper?

Printed and bound, or ordered for your whole team.

The behavior data binder

The decision tree, data sheets, and plan pages, coil-bound so it lies flat on the clipboard or the IEP table.

Notify me when it’s ready

Ordering for a team or school?

Tell me what you need and I’ll reply with a quote. Purchase orders welcome.

who’s behind this

Cover of the Function First starter pack

Built by a former Director of Special Education. Twenty-five years in the field, from first grade to AP English, from one caseload to network and district leadership.

Questions? Email info@functionfrst.com. A real person answers, not a help desk.

questions

Good to know.

01Who is this for?

Special education teachers, case managers, behavior staff, and the leaders who support them.

02Is it a subscription?

No. One payment, and the files are yours to keep.

03Google or Microsoft?

Both. Every editable file comes as a Google “make a copy” link, and you can download it as Word or Excel.

04Do I need to enter student information?

No. The sheets work with initials, and nothing you type goes to us.

05Can my school pay with a purchase order?

Yes. Request a quote and we’ll send an invoice to your district.

06Can I get a refund?

Yes, within the window in our refund policy. Email us and we’ll take care of it.

free starter pack

Grab the decision tree and the data sheets.

The two pieces you can use on Monday, whether or not you ever buy anything.