Ed466 013 - Threat Assessment in Schools

Since June 1999, the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Secret Service have been working as a team to better understand–and ultimately help prevent–school shootings in America. Findings indicated that incidents of targeted violence in school were rarely impulsive; that the students who perpetrated attacks usually planned them out in advance with planning behavior that was often observable; and that, prior to most attacks, other children knew that the attack was to occur. This document uses these findings to create a process for identifying, assessing, and managing students who may pose a threat of targeted violence in schools. Eight chapters include: (1).“Introduction: Threat Assessment and the Prevention of Targeted School Violence”; (2) “Creating Climates of School Safety: A Foundation For Reducing School Violence”; ( 3 ) “Key Findings of the Safe School Initiative’s Study of Targeted School Violence”; (4) “Implementing a School Threat Assessment PrOCeSS”; ( 5 ) “Conducting a School Threat Assessment”; (6) “Managing a Threatening Situation”; (7) ‘IAction Plans for School Leaders: Creating a Safe and Connected School Climate and Implementing a Threat Assessment Program"; and (8) “Conclusion: Threat Assessment as a Decision-Making Tool.” An appendix contains a list of annotated resources. (Contains 24 references and 2 resource Web sites.) .