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Title: Behavior Assessment Training Project (BAT) Program Administrator
Department: Special Education
Campus Location: Normal, IL

Job Summary

Project Overview:

The Behavior Assessment Training (BAT) Project is a statewide initiative led by Illinois State University and in partnership with the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). By building a coordinated system of professional learning and technical assistance focused on Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs) and Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs), the BAT Project promotes proactive, instructional, and data-driven responses to behavior that interferes with a student’s learning or the learning of others, supporting students’ academic and functional needs across school settings.

Across Illinois, schools continue to rely heavily on exclusionary discipline practices to address student behavior, despite decades of research demonstrating that these approaches are ineffective and inequitable. While students with disabilities are disproportionately impacted—representing approximately 15.5% of enrollment but more than one-third of suspensions—many students without identified disabilities also experience disciplinary exclusion due to unmet academic, social-emotional, or contextual needs.

Behavior that interferes with learning often reflects skill gaps, environmental mismatches, or unmet needs rather than willful misconduct. When these behaviors are addressed through removal rather than instruction, students lose access to learning, engagement decreases, and long-term outcomes worsen. State and federal guidance, including the Illinois School Code (105 ILCS 5/10-22.6) and recent legislative efforts, emphasize the use of non-exclusionary, instructional approaches, including FBAs and BIPs, to address behavior that significantly interferes with learning.

Despite these expectations, implementation across districts remains inconsistent. Many educators report limited preparation to conduct FBAs or develop BIPs that meaningfully identify behavioral function, guide instruction, and support durable change. As a result, FBAs and BIPs are too often treated as compliance documents rather than as evidence-based, high-leverage practices capable of improving student outcomes.

The BAT Project addresses this gap by strengthening statewide capacity to understand behavior as communication, align interventions to behavioral function, and ensure that schools have the knowledge, tools, and systems needed to respond effectively, keeping students engaged in learning and supported within their educational environments.

Purpose of the BAT Project:
The BAT Project directly addresses these needs by developing a comprehensive statewide system of training, technical assistance, and resource dissemination focused on FBAs and BIPs. It aims to ensure that every educator—regardless of setting or role—has the knowledge, skills, and support to:
● Understand the function of challenging behavior and design positive, individualized interventions.
● Comply with state and federal mandates requiring proactive, non-exclusionary practices.
● Build local capacity to reduce reliance on suspension, expulsion, restraint, and seclusion.
● Promote equitable, inclusive learning environments where students with disabilities can thrive.

The BAT Project equips Illinois educators with function-based, evidence-driven tools to address behavior in instructional ways rather than through reactive and exclusionary practices. By strengthening educator knowledge and access to practical strategies, the project supports more consistent and effective responses to behavior that interferes with learning—helping ensure that all students remain engaged, supported, and included in the learning process.

BAT Program Administrator:

The BAT Program Administrator provides day-to-day leadership and coordination for the Behavior Assessment Training (BAT) Project. This role focuses on overseeing project implementation, supporting and supervising staff and consultants, and ensuring that professional learning and technical assistance activities are delivered consistently, effectively, and in alignment with project goals.

The Program Administrator works closely with the Principal Investigator and project partners to translate grant goals into actionable plans, coordinates trainings and support across the state, monitors progress toward outcomes, and supports communication among BAT staff, ISBE, participating districts, and other stakeholders. While this role may contribute to training and technical assistance efforts as needed, its primary focus is program administration, coordination, and quality assurance, rather than serving as the primary trainer or coach.

This position is well-suited for an experienced educational leader who enjoys managing complex initiatives, coordinating teams, supporting systems-level improvement, and ensuring that evidence-based practices are implemented with fidelity to support equitable and inclusive learning environments.

Additional Information

Illinois State University is authorized to do business within the State of Illinois. All work under this appointment is required to be performed from within the State of Illinois. Illinois State University does not authorize out-of-state work.

Salary Rate / Pay Rate

$8,334 - $9,106 monthly

University Benefit Highlights

- Insurance benefits, including health, dental, vision, and life 
- Retirement and supplemental retirement planning options 
- Tuition waiver benefits available to staff as well as their eligible dependents 
- Paid holiday/administrative closures during Thanksgiving and Winter Breaks 
- Paid benefit time 
 
Additional University Benefit information, including information regarding eligibility to participate in the State Universities Retirement System and the State of Illinois Group Insurance program, can be reviewed here: https://hr.illinoisstate.edu/benefits/ 
 

Required Qualifications

● Master’s degree in Special Education, Educational Administration, Behavior Analysis, School Psychology, or a closely related field.
● Current professional certification or licensure in a relevant discipline (i.e., LBS1, BCBA, School Psychologist), with minimum of five (5) years experience functioning in an administrative, supervisory, or project leadership role within education or related service system.
● Minimum of five (5) years experience supervising, managing, or coordinating the work of educators or staff, including responsibility for setting expectations, monitoring quality of work, and providing structured feedback.
● Minimum of five (5) years of experience conducting or overseeing Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs) and development of Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs) in school-based settings, with demonstrated responsibility for guiding, reviewing, or supporting the work of others, rather than solely providing direct services.
● Minimum of five (5) years experience providing or overseeing professional learning, coaching, and technical assistance to educators, including responsibility for monitoring implementation, progress, or outcomes across school or districts.
● Strong understanding of IDEA, Illinois School Code, disproportionality, Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS), and instructional behavior intervention frameworks, with experience applying this knowledge to ensure legal complianceand alignment within programs, projects, or initiatives.
● Minimum of two (2) years experience supporting fiscal and administrative management of program or departmental budgets, including responsibility for tracking expenditures, facilitating purchases, coordinating contracts, ensuring compliance with an approved budget, and contributing to required reporting.
● Strong leadership, communication, and organizational skills, demonstrated through experience coordinating and supervising teams, facilitating structured meetings and supervision sessions, managing timelines and deliverables, and engaging effectively with internal and external stakeholders.
● Ability and willingness to travel throughout Illinois (2–3 days per week, with occasional overnight travel).

Preferred Qualifications

● Experience supervising staff across multiple regions, districts, or sites.
● Experience overseeing professional learning delivered by others (, including quality assurance, fidelity monitoring, and continuous improvement processes.
● Experience supporting or leading statewide coaching or large-scale technical assistance initiatives, particularly related to behavior, discipline, or systems change.
● Familiarity with Illinois education systems, ISBE initiatives, and state-level reporting or accountability structures.
● Experience working with districts identified for disproportionality or elevated use of exclusionary discipline practices.
● Experience coordinating multi-format professional learning (i.e., in-person trainings & workshops, webinars, virtual learning series, communities of practice).
● Experience supporting program evaluation or continuous improvement processes within grant-funded initiatives

Work Hours

General work hours are M-F, 8am - 4:30pm.  Evening or weekend hours may be expected, depending on business need.

Functional Expectations

Must be able to complete the following with or without a reasonable accommodation:
1. Remain at a workstation for extended periods
2. Move about in various locations on and off campus as needed to complete day-to-day work
3. Effectively communicate on a daily basis

Proposed Starting Date

2/16/2026

Required Applicant Documents

Resume/C.V.
Cover Letter
Reference List (specifically, the names, addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses of at least three professional references)

Please Note: These documents are required to be submitted online in order to complete the application process. Please have these documents ready prior to clicking on "Apply"

Contact Information for Applicants

Nikki Michalak
nakempe@ilstu.edu

Important Information for Applicants

This position is subject to a criminal background investigation and if applicable, an employment history review, based on University Policy 3.1.30 and any offer of employment is contingent upon you passing a satisfactory criminal background investigation and/or an employment history review. You may not begin work until the criminal background investigation results have been received and cleared by Human Resources.

Illinois State University is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.

If you are an individual with a disability and need a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or other state or federal law you may request an accommodation by contacting the Office of Equal Opportunity and Access at (309) 438-3383. The Office of Equal Opportunity and Access will hold any confidential information you provide in confidence.

If you are having difficulty accessing the system, please call Human Resources at (309) 438-8311.