Behavior Intervention Training (BITS)

The Behavior Intervention Training & Teacher Support Act was enacted by the Nebraska Legislature to ensure that educators are prepared to respond to student behavior in ways that are safe, informed, and supportive.

The statute establishes a statewide expectation for recurring behavioral awareness training and outlines the core topic areas that must be addressed. While the requirements apply uniformly across Nebraska public schools, districts retain flexibility in how training is delivered and implemented at the local level.

Beginning with the 2024–25 school year, the ESU Coordinating Council is responsible for ensuring that compliant training options and reporting supports are available statewide, with delivery facilitated through Nebraska’s ESU system.

Under the statute, the following roles are required to receive behavioral awareness training:

• Teachers
• Administrators
• Paraprofessionals
• School counselors
• School nurses

Each individual in these roles must complete qualifying behavioral awareness training at least once every three years.

Districts are responsible for determining how training is delivered, maintaining local records of participation, and ensuring that all required roles are included within the reporting cycle.

BITS establishes clear expectations for who must receive training, how often training is required, and what topic areas must be addressed, while preserving local flexibility in how districts meet those expectations.

Who must participate: 
Teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, school counselors, and school nurses.

How often training is required:
At least once every three years for staff in the roles identified above.

What the training must address:
The statutory topic areas include awareness of the signs and symptoms of trauma, positive behavioral supports, and de-escalation strategies.

Flexibility in delivery:
Districts determine the training format that best fits their local context, provided statutory requirements are met.

The ESUCC's role is to support districts in meeting these requirements—not to approve or certify individual training programs. Districts may continue to use existing trainings that districts determine meet the statutory expectations, including commonly used programs such as CPI or MANDT.

The ESU Coordinating Council has designed the Behavior Intervention Training (BITS) as a free, flexible, and accessible statewide option to support districts at varying levels of experience with behavioral awareness training.

There are two aligned training options:

BITS 101: An awareness-level training intended for educators who are new to the topic or who would benefit from foundational learning related to behavioral awareness, positive behavioral supports, and de-escalation strategies.

BITS 102: A deeper exploration of the same statutory topic areas, intended for educators with prior experience or for districts looking to extend learning without repeating identical content within the three-year training cycle.

Multi-delivery options are available:

• Asynchronous video modules.
• A Canvas course available through the Nebraska Department of Education’s Learning Network.
• In-person or facilitated sessions delivered by ESU personnel using ESUCC-developed materials.

In addition to ensuring required staff complete behavioral awareness training, districts are responsible for tracking participation and reporting completion totals annually.

District responsibilities include:

Local record-keeping: Districts maintain their own records of individual staff participation in behavioral awareness training.

Annual reporting through BIRT: Each year, districts report completion totals through the Behavior Intervention Reporting Tool (BIRT) maintained by the ESU Coordinating Council.

Aggregate reporting by role: Reporting is completed using total counts by role. Individual names or identifying information are not collected or submitted.

Compliance-focused reporting: The purpose of reporting is to meet statutory requirements and support statewide accountability, not to evaluate individual educators or districts.

The ESU Coordinating Council compiles district-reported data to fulfill statewide reporting obligations outlined in the statute.