Start BER

Behavior Emergency Reporting (BER) is a built-in feature of Behavior Advantage that helps school staff document Student Incident Reports and Behavior Emergency Reports quickly, consistently, and in one place.

Behavior emergencies can occur even when staff are well trained and proactive supports are in place. Behavior Advantage helps teams save time, maintain compliance, and connect incident documentation directly to a student's behavior supports, plans, and progress data.

Why Use Behavior Advantage for BER?

• All in one system. Keep incident documentation alongside Behavior Plans and progress data to connect what happened with the student's ongoing supports.
• Collaborative & transparent. Allow teachers, BCBAs, administrators, and other team members to contribute, review, and follow up using a shared workflow.
• CalPADS-ready. Includes required CalPADS reporting codes along with automated reporting and file generation to simplify year-end reporting.
• Best-practice aligned. Supports clear, professional documentation consistent with Crisis Prevention and Intervention training programs while emphasizing proactive supports and reducing future incidents requiring emergency intervention.

Note: Behavior Emergency Reporting is required in California under Education Code § 56521.1 and represents a best practice for documenting emergency interventions, including physical restraint, in schools nationwide.

Starting a Behavior Emergency Report (BER)

1. From the student's Student Actions menu, select Start BER.
2. Complete the Incident Details section and click Save.
3. Complete the Staff Response section and click Save.
4. Complete the Administrative Actions section and click Save.
5. Complete the Debrief section and click Save.
6. Complete the CalPADS Coding section and click Save.
7. Add any supporting Attachments and click Save.
8. Use the PDFs menu to view, print, or save the desired report.

Staff Response

Complete the Staff Response section to document the actions taken by staff during the incident, including any emergency interventions or physical restraint procedures used.

Provide complete and objective documentation describing the staff response, ensuring the report accurately reflects the sequence of events and actions taken to maintain safety.

Click Save when all applicable fields have been completed.

Administrative Actions

Complete the Administrative Actions section to document required notifications, follow-up actions, and team review after the incident.

Notifications

Document each required notification related to the incident. For each person or agency notified, complete the applicable fields:

• Category (Administrator, Parent/Guardian, Law, LEA, SELPA, Care Home, Social Worker, Other)
• Person Notified
• Date
• Time
• Notifier
• Method (e.g., Phone, Email, In Person)

Complete only the notification rows that apply to the incident.

BIP Status

Select the option that best describes the student's current Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) status.

This section documents whether:

• A current BIP addressing the behavior does not exist.
• A current BIP exists but should be reviewed or modified, requiring an IEP team meeting.
• A current BIP exists and adequately addresses the behavior involved in the incident (no IEP team meeting required).

Suspension

If a suspension resulted from the incident, enter the Suspension Start and Suspension End dates.

Leave this section blank if no suspension occurred.

Team Signatures

Enter the names and positions of staff members who participated in reviewing or completing the report. Signature rows may be used to document administrative review, IEP team participation, or other required staff involvement, based on district procedures.

Click Save when all applicable Administrative Actions have been completed.

Debrief

Complete the Debrief section to document follow-up discussions, recommendations, and actions that will help reduce the likelihood of future behavior emergencies.

Include any changes to supports, staff recommendations, additional training needs, or follow-up actions identified during the team's review of the incident.

Click Save when the Debrief section has been completed.

CalPADS Coding

Complete the CalPADS Coding section by selecting the applicable reporting codes from each drop-down menu.

Behavior Advantage includes searchable code lists to help staff quickly locate and select the appropriate CalPADS codes based on the incident and resulting actions.

Student Incident (SINC)

Document applicable incident reporting information, including:

• Statutory Offense Indicator
• Student Instructional Support Indicator
• Removal Code

Student Incident Results (SIRS)

Document the outcome of the incident, including:

• Incident Result Code
• Incident Authority Code
• Incident Modification Code
• Incident Result Duration (Days)

Student Offense (SOFF)

Document the applicable:

• Offense Code
• Weapon Code (when applicable)

Accurate CalPADS coding supports automated year-end reporting within Behavior Advantage and helps ensure complete and consistent state reporting.

Click Save when all applicable coding fields have been completed.

Attachments

Use the Attachments section to upload and store files related to the Behavior Emergency Report.

Examples may include:

• Alternative or district-specific Behavior Emergency Report forms
• Injury Reports
• Other supporting documentation

Enter a brief Attachment Description to identify each file.

Note: Attachments are stored electronically with the Behavior Emergency Report but are not included when viewing or printing the BER PDF reports.

Click Save after adding or updating attachments.

PDFs

Click the PDFs drop-down menu to view, print, or save one or more of the available BER documents.

Available PDFs include:

• Behavior Emergency Report
• Checklist
• Debrief
• BER Instructions

Select the desired document(s) to generate a PDF for printing, saving, or sharing.