This guide is intended to help California educators comply with requirements of the 1990 Hughes Act (which ensured the right of the state's special education students to a behavioral intervention plan) and with requirements of the reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (1997) concerning functional behavioral assessment and positive behavioral interventions. The 10 chapters have the following titles: (1) "Introduction"; (2) "Procedures Required by Law and Regulation"; (3) "Functional Analysis Assessment"; (4) "Procedural Overview of Plan Development"; (5) Recommended Positive Intervention Procedures"; (6) "Emergency Procedures"; (7) "Critical Competencies of the Behavioral Intervention Team"; (8) "Prevention as a Best Practice"; (9) "Predisposing Conditions, Factors, and Influences"; and (10) "Timeout in the Context of the New Regulations." Seventeen appendices provide additional information such as sections of the California Code, report forms, worksheets, sample reinforcement charts, a guide to analyzing behavior, the Educational Environment Assessment Scale, a proposed training framework, and a list of resources for skills training programs. (Contains approximately 160 references.) (DB)