Community-based instruction planning
By the IEP Atlas editorial teamLast updated
Short answer
Community-based instruction teaches IEP skills in the real places students will use them: stores, restaurants, buses, libraries and job sites. Plan it by starting from each student's goals, choosing sites that serve several goals, setting staffing and safety rules, preparing at school first, and running trips on a fixed weekly schedule with data on every outing.
Community-based instruction (CBI) is regular, planned teaching in community settings, tied to IEP goals. It is not a field trip. A field trip is a one-time outing for enrichment. CBI is the same store or bus route week after week, with each student working on a measured skill, until the student can do it with less help.
This guide walks through planning a CBI program, step by step, and follows one fictional student through a semester. How to collect data on the trips is covered in community-based instruction data. The life skills IEP goals pillar lists the routines CBI usually targets.
What you need before you start
- Each student's goals and transition plan. CBI should serve IEP goals, not the other way around.
- District policy. Most districts have rules on off-campus instruction: permission forms, staff ratios, transportation, and who may drive.
- A budget. Bus fares, groceries, restaurant meals and entry fees add up. Know the source: classroom budget, family contribution, grants or a school store.
- Transportation. Walking routes, a school van, public transit or a district bus.
- Health information. Medication needs, allergies, seizure plans and emergency contacts, from the school nurse, in a form staff can carry.
Step-by-step: planning CBI
Step 1: List the goals CBI will serve
Make a table with each student and the goals that need a community setting. Many goals fit: shopping, ordering food, riding a bus, using money, asking for help, street crossing, job tasks.
Example: Student A has grocery and money goals. Student B has bus riding and street crossing goals. Student C has restaurant ordering and AAC goals. Student D has a library card and asking-for-help goal.
Step 2: Choose sites that serve several goals at once
One trip should give every student a target. A shopping plaza with a grocery store, a fast food restaurant and a bus stop serves all four students above. A store close enough to walk to adds street crossing for free.
| Site | Goals it serves |
|---|---|
| Grocery store | List use, aisle signs, budget, checkout |
| Fast food restaurant | Menu reading, ordering, next-dollar payment |
| Bus route | Fare, signaling a stop, waiting at the curb |
| Public library | Library card, finding items, asking staff |
| Post office or bank | Mailing, teller and ATM routines |
| Job site | Work tasks, breaks, vending machines |
Step 3: Set the schedule and keep it
CBI works through repetition. Pick a day and keep it, such as Tuesday mornings for shopping and Thursday afternoons for the bus. Return to the same sites until a student nears mastery, then add a new site to test generalization.
Example: weekly trips to the same grocery store for 8 weeks, then one trip to a second store every fourth week.
Step 4: Plan staffing and safety
Decide staff ratios by student need, not by van seats. Write a short safety plan for each trip: route, meeting point, what to do if a student is separated, who carries medication and the emergency contact list. Students who may run off or bolt need a written plan before any community trip. For skills to teach the student, see what to do if lost goals.
Example: 1 adult per 2 students on the bus route; 1 adult per 3 at the store. The teacher carries the medication bag and the contact list.
Step 5: Prepare at school first
Teach the steps at school before the trip: a classroom store, a mock bus stop, a menu role-play, a vending machine in the building. School practice gives the student enough of the routine that the community trip is a real test, not a first exposure.
Example: two classroom store sessions in the week before each grocery trip, using the same picture list format.
Step 6: Get permission and inform families
Send a permission form covering the year's regular trips, the sites, the transportation and the cost. Tell families which skills each trip targets so they can practice at home. A short note after each trip ("Today Jamal paid with the next-dollar method on his own") keeps families involved.
Step 7: Plan how support will fade
Write down how adult help will step back as the student improves: adult beside the student, then 10 feet back, then waiting at the store entrance. Fading is the point of CBI. The prompt hierarchy examples page shows the order to fade prompts.
Worked example: one student, one semester
Jamal (fictional) is 18, in a transition program. His goals are riding a city bus to a job site and buying lunch with the next-dollar method. His family wants him to get to a part-time job without a ride.
Plan: CBI every Tuesday and Thursday, 2 hours each. Tuesday: bus route from school to the job site (2 stops, 12 minutes), with lunch at a deli near the stop. Thursday: classroom practice (fare card, stop signaling, money) and one practice ride in the afternoon. Staff ratio 1 to 2. Cost per student per week: $5 in fares and about $8 for lunch, covered by the program budget and the family.
Baseline: On 3 rides in September, Jamal completed 4, 5 and 5 of 12 bus-riding steps independently. At the deli, he completed 3 of 10 ordering steps.
| Month | Bus steps (of 12, median of probes) | Deli steps (of 10, median) | Adult position |
|---|---|---|---|
| September (baseline) | 5 | 3 | Beside Jamal |
| October | 7 | 6 | Beside, then one seat back |
| November | 10 | 8 | Across the aisle |
| December | 12 | 10 | Front of the bus; Jamal rides alone with adult following by car in January |
By December, Jamal met both goals. The adult moved back each month, which the table shows next to the data. In January the team wrote a new goal for handling a missed bus or detour. The transit agency's travel training program was added to the transition plan as an adult service link. Goals for that next step are on the public transportation goals page.
Common mistakes
Weak: A monthly outing to a different place each time. Better: A weekly trip to the same site until skills are near mastery.
Weak: Choosing sites because they are fun. Better: Choosing sites because they serve students' IEP goals.
Weak: The adult pays, orders and finds the bus stop to save time. Better: The student does every step they can; the adult prompts only as needed.
Weak: No school practice; the store trip is the first try. Better: Teach the routine at school the week before each trip.
Weak: No plan for a student who runs or gets separated. Better: A written safety plan for each trip, known by every adult.
Weak: Adult support stays the same all year. Better: A written fading plan, with the adult's position recorded beside the data.
Templates and tools
- Community access goals and community setting goals for goal wording.
- Community services goals for library, post office, bank, vending and self-checkout routines.
- Public transportation goal hub and grocery shopping goal hub.
- Task analysis data sheet for each routine.
- The goal checker, to confirm each CBI goal names its community setting.
Goal pages for common CBI routines: grocery shopping, restaurants and community services. For the transition plan behind CBI, see transition IEP goals examples.
Transition services include community experiences and instruction toward adult living, chosen from the student's needs, strengths, preferences and interests.[1] CBI is one of the most direct ways to deliver them.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between CBI and a field trip?
A field trip is a one-time outing for enrichment. Community-based instruction is planned, repeated teaching in a community setting, tied to each student's IEP goals, with data on every trip and support that fades over time.
How often should community-based instruction happen?
Weekly is common, at the same day and time. Some transition programs run CBI several times a week. Repetition at the same site matters more than variety until a student nears mastery.
How is community-based instruction funded?
Programs use classroom or program budgets, family contributions, school store profits, grants and donations. Walking trips and free sites such as libraries cost little. Check district policy on handling student money.
Use it in IEP Atlas
- Community access goals (transition)
- Goals for the community setting
- Community based instruction in the IEP glossary
- Community services goals (transition)
- IEP goal checker
Related guides
- Life skills IEP goals: the complete map by domain
- How to measure community-based instruction goals
- IEP goals for grocery shopping
- IEP goals for ordering at a restaurant
Sources
- 34 CFR §300.43: Transition services, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
- 34 CFR §300.320: Definition of individualized education program, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
- Effective Practices, NTACT:C
Written and checked by the IEP Atlas editorial team under our editorial policy. This guide describes general practice and federal rules. It is not legal advice; your state may add requirements, and the IEP team makes the decisions for each student.