Threat assessment is an objective, fact-finding process to determine whether there is an existing or posed threat to others. This process is initiated whenever perceived harm to others is reported to the school. It is focused on identifying behaviors of concern to determine any appropriate intervention strategies for the student. This process runs independently of any discipline, restorative, or criminal process.
There are two levels to this process: an initial screen and/or a full threat assessment.
- An initial screen is used to determine whether a threat is posed. If the information demonstrates a severe or significant concern or impact and/or not enough information is known to make an accurate determination – a trained school threat assessment team may move to a full threat assessment.
- A full threat assessment is used to delve deeper into the facts surrounding the alleged threat and the individual student’s background.
Every threat assessment will have a screen but not every screen will result in a full threat assessment. Threat assessments are used to guide practices for student intervention based on the individual and any concerns that may be presented.
If your student has been contacted as part of a threat assessment process, you are welcome to reach out to your student’s school threat assessment team with any questions you may have.