PDF THREAT ASSESSMENT IN SCHOOLS - Home | U.S. Department of Education Threats whether they arehoaxesor actual threats can spread panic throughout a school community and can have a profoundly negative effect on the learning environment. Threat Assessment and Reporting - SchoolSafety.gov | School Safety Dont see your training provider? He is also the author of numerousVector Training staff and student online training courseson these topics. Threat Assessment | Ohio School Safety Center It is imperative that the selected BTAM model is validated, uses a multidisciplinary approach, and is standardized yet flexible enough to meet varying resources. Finally, school staff representing administration, instruction, mental health, and law enforcement all report high levels of satisfaction, knowledge,and motivation regarding the use of threat assessment after attending our workshops. In any organization, club or sport,, Evidence-Based Professional Development for Paraprofessionals This Paraprofessional Professional Development Plan is shared with permission from Prince George's County Public Schools. PDF Threat Assessment: Analysis Worksheet (11 Key Questions) - Pages SCHOOL THREAT ASSESSMENT DECISION TREE. PDF Forms for the Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines Threat assessment includes the identification, assessment, and management of threats with the goal of resolving conflicts or problems before they escalate into violence. No case is black and white but proper threat assessment will help schools make the best decisions they can based on the information they have. NTAC Chief Dr. Lina Alathari participates in a press conference for NTACs "Mass Attacks in Public Spaces - 2018" report in Washington, D.C. Director James T. Murray participates in a press conference for NTACs "Protecting Americas Schools" report at Secret Service Headquarters in Washington, D.C., in 2019. Develop a Central Reporting Mechanism. Before the shooting, teachers and administrators had noticed several red flags including concerning videos, drawings, and web searches for ammunition on school computers. identification of students at risk for violence. The student of concern should be immediately and safely contained, based on the severity of the concern. Mrs. Jones is concerned about her daughters safety. On school climate surveys, students and teachers report feeling safer than in schools not using threat assessment. PDF THREAT ASSESSMENT PLAN - Prairie-Hills Elementary School District 144 In Person & Online. Without appropriate intervention, students facing severe mental health challenges may experience symptoms that manifest as violence., Study after study has shown that the establishment of a threat assessment team is the single most effective tool for promoting school safety, says Tom Wheeler, former senior advisor to the White House Federal Commission on School Safety. The BTAM team should develop a written plan that assists the individual of concern who engaged in threatening behaviors. PDF Threat Assessment Tools - Kentucky The school team includes Score 0 or 1 1. The Challenge Simplifying, This article is authored by Dr. Scott Poland and was originally published online in, Sample Paraeducator Professional Development Plan, JCPS Streamlines PD Management and Gains Valuable Insights, A student informs an instructor of a rumor of a death threat made by another student, A school receives a bomb threat on social media, An instructor finds a note showing intent of violence, Identify educational needs and support services for students who have made a threat, Reduce legal liability by following reasonable and accepted practices for violence prevention. The model plan shall do at least the following: (1) Identify the types of threatening behavior that may represent a physical threat to a school community; (2) Identify individuals to whom threatening behavior should be reported and steps to be taken by those individuals; (3) Establish threat assessment guidelines including identification, evaluation of seriousness of threat or danger, intervention to reduce potential violence, and follow-up to assess intervention results; (4) Establish guidelines for coordinating with local law enforcement agencies and reports collected through the district's chosen anonymous reporting program under section 3313.6610 of the Revised Code and identify a point of contact within each agency; (5) Conform with all other specifications in a school's emergency management plan developed under section 5502.262 of the Revised Code., ORC 5502.263 further requires that Evidence-based threat assessment processes or best practice threat assessment guidelines created by the national threat assessment center shall be a resource when developing the model threat assessment plan., Secret Service: National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC), According to ORC 5502.263: Evidence-based threat assessment processes or best practice threat assessment guidelines created by the national threat assessment center shall be a resource when developing the model threat assessment plan., University of Virginia, Dr. Dewey Cornell, THE COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL THREAT ASSESSMENT GUIDELINES (CSTAG), Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools Technical Assistance Center (REMS), National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), Threat Assessment and Reporting (Many resources listed), ORC5502.263Modelthreatassessmentplan, Ohio Department of Public Safety | 1970 West Broad Street 43223 Columbus, OH | Call: 614-644-2641, Armed School Staff Essential Training (ASSET), Emergency Management Tests (EMT) & Exercises, PK-12 School Emergency Management Plans / EMT, Safer Ohio School Tip Line / Crisis Resources, Important Information for New Administrators, Safety and Violence Education Students (SAVE Students) Act, https://navigate360.com/safety-solutions/comprehensive-school-threat-assessment-guidelines-training/, NABITA - National Association for Behavioral Intervention and Threat Assessment, https://corp.publicschoolworks.com/program/threat-assessment-and-management/, https://www.vectorsolutions.com/course-details-edu/threat-assessment/ss-staff/6adf9862-ddc2-11e6-a8f5-c8c396b390e8/, Averting Targeted School Violence: A U.S. Secret Service Analysis of Plots Against Schools, Protecting Americas Schools: A U.S. Secret Service Analysis of Targeted School Violence, Enhancing School Safety Using a Threat Assessment Model: An Operational Guide for Preventing Targeted School Violence, THE COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL THREAT ASSESSMENT GUIDELINES, ACTIVE SHOOTER SITUATIONS: THREAT ASSESSMENT TEAMS (TAT), UNDERSTANDING THE NEW FERPA GUIDANCE FOR SCHOOL SECURITY STAFF FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, RESPONDING TO STUDENTS WHO THREATEN VIOLENCE: HELPING HANDOUT FOR THE SCHOOL, Behavior Threat Assessment and Management in the Virtual Environment, Threat Assessment for School Administrators & Crisis Teams, Contact Regional Prevention Coordinator - Jordan Garza -, School Threat Assessment Consultants LLC (In Partnership with Ohio Department of Education). This approach, which has been empirically proven, is based on the motto that prevention must start before there is a gunman at the school door., The Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines have an overwhelmingly high success rate: studies have shown that after implementing CSTAG, 99% of threats are not carried out, and only 1% of students are expelled or arrested.. Step 4. Create and Promote Safe School Climates. Please submit agency or school district location (City, State). If members of the team have completed a training program any time after March 24, 2019, that was later approved by the OSSC, this can qualify as the initial training required under this legislation. Making Prevention a Reality Through Threat Assessment and Threat Management. This form should be maintained in the cumulative file of the student's scholastic record if the threat is determined to be substantive. Step 1. After years of development and research, this model, the Virginia Student Threat Assessment Guidelines (VSTAG), was formally recognized as an evidence-based program by the federal government's National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices in 2013. PDF The author(s) shown below used Federal funding provided by the U.S It also helps to: Both the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Education have endorsements for proper threat assessment. PDF Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management (BTAM) Best Practice Roles and responsibilities must be explicitly defined and understood by all involved. BTAM team members needs high-quality training that equips them with the knowledge and skills needed to effectively implement the pre-K-12 BTAM process with fidelity. Forms for the Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines What is the purpose of these forms? (For more detailed information see: Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management: Best Practice Considerations for K-12 Schools and Upholding Student Civil Rights and Preventing Disproportionality in Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management.). Threat Assessment Checklist for K-12 Schools - Home | Ohio Department Box 6929 Charlottesville VA 22906 USA. Back up team members also need to be trained and accessible to fill in when primary team members are unavailable. div.cpra-link { color: white; min-height: 3em; } div.cpra-link a { color: white; font-weight: 400; } div.cpra-link a:hover { text-decoration: underline; }, 2023 Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, 175 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA 02116 | an Equal Opportunity Employer and an Equal Housing Insurer, Effective threat assessments for schools: A 5-step framework, Liberty Mutual proudly supports Pride Month 2023, Background and statistics on targeted school violence, The need for threat assessment programs and understanding the pathway to violence, Components of an effective threat assessment program, Model threat assessment programs and overview. It is important to have more than one confidential method to report, and students, staff, and families need to be explicitly trained on how and what to report and what is not appropriate to report via these methods. However, if the threat is legitimate and mitigation actions need to be taken, an SRO/law enforcement officer may become engaged in a consultative or direct role. Students making threats are subject to threat assessment. A student might apologize, for example, and explain that the threat was a joke or the result of anger or frustration. Our group has extensive experience conducting threat assessment training for schools. Threat Assessment at School It includes the SIVRA-35 Supplemental Question Sheet (National Association for Behavioral Intervention and Threat Assessment, undated b). PDF Student Threat Assessment as a Standard School Safety Practice It is important to reevaluate the plan and make adjustments as needed. No matter the complexity, were committed to delivering a high-quality claims experience. PDF School-Based Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management Training Completion of an approved program under this section shall fulfill the training requirements prescribed under section 3313.669 of the Revised Code.. On the contrary, national crime statistics show that school-age children are safer from shootings at school than almost any other location. All consultants are independent contractors and do not represent their university or other employing agencies. This article is authored by Dr. Scott Poland and was originally published online in Campus Safety.. Dr. Scott Poland discusses the four-step process of conducting a school threat assessment and provides some accompanying scenarios and suggestions. Threat assessment is a violenceprevention strategy that involves: (a) identifying student threats to commit a violent act, (b) determiningthe seriousness of the threat, and (c) developing intervention plans thatprotect potential victims andaddress the underlying problem or conflict that stimulated the threatening behavior. Heres how it works: The first step in Cornells model is evaluation when teachers or school administrators hear of a threat, they need to gather as much data on the incident as possible. A lock or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. apology is given? . B tells the police he was joking and S never made a threat against the school. School shootings like this are becoming increasingly common, with the declining state of student mental health and the social and economic pressures of the pandemic coinciding with a spike in such violence.Administrators are desperate for proven strategies to keep their students safe. Inmany schools, threat assessment teams met infrequently, with 13.4%reporting no meetings and 10.3%reporting only one meeting during the school year. Schools should incorporate wellness promotion and social-emotional learning curricula, and they should routinely analyze academic, behavioral, and social-emotional data in order to make data-based decisions regarding prevention and intervention programs needed. S likes to draw and her drawings in a school notebook often have violent themes. School-Based Mental Health Advocacy Day in Missouri! 4. When we just look at gun violence which makes up a relatively small percentage of school violence overall there were 24 school shootings between January and late October 2021, 16 of which happened after Aug. 1, according toEducation Week. These changes serve to broaden the legislated purview of school behavior threat assessment teams, and provide schools with a model policy "for the establishment of an assessment team or teams in each local school system." This document In an increasingly violent world, the establishment and implementation of a threat assessment program is the cornerstone of violence prevention in our schools. Proper threat assessment can help schools avoid overreacting to transient threats. Review the documentation on this website and use the contact form at the bottom of this page to learn more about our training services. 5. The shootings resulted in six deaths and 34 injuries. SCENARIO 2 Mrs. Jones, a parent, calls the transportation department to report that her daughter Julie received an e-mail from Ben, another student, which stated he is going to shoot kids on the middle school bus tomorrow. It is important to note that levels of concern are not to be used to predict human behavior or to automatically determine a change of educational placement but are to be used to design interventions and supports. This evaluation needs to be conducted by a multidisciplinary team, including teachers, school resource officers, and school psychologists or guidance counselors. Threat Assessment: Analysis Worksheet (11 Key Questions) The analysis of the information gathered during the Threat Assessment Inquiry should answer the following two questions: Is the behavior of the student consistent with the movement on a path towards an attack? IMPLEMENT AND MONITOR THE SAFETY PLAN. Supervisory Social Science Research Specialist Steven Driscoll presents NTAC's research, "Mass Attacks in Public Spaces - 2019," at a press conference in Washington, D.C., Aug. 6, 2020. Administrative, Professional and Technical, Special Agent Talent & Achievement Recruitment, Improving School Safety Through Bystander Reporting, Protecting Americas Schools: A U.S. Secret Service Analysis of Targeted School Violence, Campus Attacks: Targeted Violence Affecting Institutions of Higher Education, Prior Knowledge of Potential School-Based Violence: Information Students Learn May Prevent a Targeted Attack, The Final Report and Findings of the Safe School Initiative: Implications for the Prevention of School Attacks in the United States, Threat Assessment in Schools: A Guide to Managing Threatening Situations and to Creating Safe School Climates, Hot Yoga Tallahassee: A Case Study of Misogynistic Extremism, The Congressional Shooter: A Behavioral Review of James Hodgkinson, Exploring the Effect of Stressors in Threat Assessment Investigations: A Case Study on Bart Allen Ross, Using a Systems Approach for Threat Assessment Investigations: A Case Study on Jared Lee Loughner, Investigating Ideologically Inspired Violent Extremists: Local Partners Are an Asset: A Case Study on Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, Attacks on U.S. Federal Government 20012013: Threat Assessment Considerations, Assassination in the United States: An Operational Study of Recent Assassins, Attackers, and Near Lethal Approachers, Protective Intelligence & Threat Assessment Investigations: A Guide for State and Local Law Enforcement Officials. For situations determined to be of low risk, informal monitoring may be sufficient. (2020). Here are a few important things to keep in mind when it comes to threat assessment: Threats will continue to occur. 7. 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Threat assessment helps a school navigate scenarios like these. School Threat Assessment If you're asked to log in with an OHID - the state's best-of-breed digital identity - your privacy, data, and personal information are protected by all federal and state digital security guidelines. Would your school staff know how to respond? In all cases, the goal is to pair the student with proper school and community-based intervention and supports. New NTAC resource offers strategies for K-12 schools to enhance bystander reporting programs. Local police interview both students separately. Cornell recommends screening the student for mental health concerns, contacting law enforcement to investigate evidence of a potential incident, and developing a comprehensive safety plan to keep students safe if the student attempts to commit a violent act. The Notorious RBG, a Pandemic, and an Election. The American Academy of Pediatrics recently declared a state of emergency for childrens mental health. Keywords: school safety, threat assessment, school violence, serious and nonserious threats In response to a series of school shootings in the 1990s, federal law enforcement and education authorities recommended that schools adopt a threat assessment approach to violence prevention (Fein et al., 2002; O'Toole, 2000). For those subjects determined to be of moderate, high, or imminent risk, more formalized progress monitoring will need to be implemented, and it is highly recommended that follow-up meetings are scheduled to review progress and responsiveness to interventions and supports. 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CONDUCT SAFETY EVALUATION. 5 PA Public School Code, Article XIII-E (Threat Assessment). ORC 5502.263 requires (C) Not later than two years after the effective date of this section, the department of public safety, in consultation with the department of education and the attorney general, shall develop and maintain a list of approved training programs for completion by school threat assessment team members prescribed in section 3313.669 of the Revised Code, one of which must be free or of no cost to schools. Behavior Threat Assessment and Management (BTAM) Best Practice And it has, indeed, been a violent year. NTAC Chief Dr. Lina Alathari announces the team's latest research, "Mass Attacks in Public Spaces - 2019," at a press conference in Washington, D.C., Aug. 6, 2020. When I providethreat assessment training, I focus specifically on schools. No matter your industry, we have the right solutions to help protect your business. Prevention means building a supportive school climate, helping students in distress, and taking appropriate protective action before a conflict or problem escalates into violence. (1) Information must be gathered from various sources during the inquiry. 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