If you work in or with K-12 schools, or in the domain of school security, chances are that you’ve heard about behavioral threat assessment (BTA) or behavioral threat assessment and management (BTAM). According to a recent report from the National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC), approximately 85-90% of public schools within the United States have their own school behavioral threat assessment team or have access to one through their district. Even independent and private schools are adding BTAM teams.
Though most schools or school districts have access to some type of behavioral threat assessment team, the structure of BTA teams and BTA programs varies considerably across states, districts, and even across schools within the same district.
Table of Contents
What Is Behavioral Threat Assessment & Management (BTA/BTAM)?
Behavioral threat assessment is a fact-finding process that schools and districts use to respond to a threat of violence or other behavior that raises concerns about the physical safety of the students, employees, and the school community. The goal of behavioral threat assessment is to mitigate the risk of potential violence and enhance the safety of everyone involved, including the student (or person) of concern.
Behavioral threat assessment has been widely recommended for schools and districts by the U.S. Department of Education, state education departments, and state school safety centers. Additionally, having a BTAM team at a school is required by law in 18 states and counting. There are three primary models of K-12 threat assessment that provide step-by-step procedures for the school behavioral threat assessment process:
- NTAC Model, originally developed by psychologists from the U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Department of Education; disseminated by the National Threat Assessment Center
- Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG), originally developed by Dr. Dewey Cornell
- Salem-Keizer Cascade Model, originally developed by Dr. John Van Dreal
Some states have published their own model procedures for K-12 threat assessment, many of which are adaptations of one of the three primary models, tailored to meet state-specific requirements for school safety compliance.
No matter the specific model or procedures recommended, school threat assessment best practices and state laws all recommend that behavioral threat assessments should be conducted by a behavioral threat assessment team rather than by one person conducting the assessment alone.
What Is a Behavioral Threat Assessment Team?
A school behavioral threat assessment team is made up of multi-disciplinary or cross-disciplinary professionals who are tasked with addressing threatening behavior on behalf of their individual school or district. Having members from an array of disciplines and enhances the team’s ability to do all of the following important functions of behavioral threat assessment:
- identify developing concerns/threats
- gather information from multiple sources
- maximize skills and resources to address concerns
- monitor outcomes
Another important function of a BTAM team is to enhance the school or district’s ability to
- communicate (to, from, and within the teams)
- collaborate (working together for the best awareness and outcomes)
- coordinate (engaging in purposeful planning and coordination of actions and interventions, within the team and with outside partners).
When these functions work together, a BTA team becomes something greater than the sum of its parts: a structured, human-centered system for keeping schools safer.
Who Should Be on a BTA or BTAM Team?
BTA team membership can vary depending on the level of the team (district-wide or school-level team), personnel available, and the scope of the team’s work. Most behavioral threat assessment teams or BTAM teams in schools have core membership that includes an administrator, a member of instructional staff, a mental health professional (school-based or external), and a school resource officer or local law enforcement professional.
According to the NTAC report on the state of K-12 behavioral threat assessment in the United States, the most common BTA team members include
- principals (84% of teams include this role)
- counselors (84%)
- other school administrators (69%)
- school-based law enforcement (53%)
- social workers (50%)
Other professionals who are commonly included on BTA/BTAM teams include
- school psychologists (49%)
- instructional staff (45%)
- special education specialists (43%)
- district administrators (36%)
- non-school-based law enforcement (13%)
When selecting individual team members, it can be particularly helpful to consider the characteristics that are best suited for working on a BTA/BTAM team, including compassion, handling situations objectively and fairly, and working with others collaboratively.
Typical Roles and Responsibilities for School BTA Teams
Within a BTA team, each team member should know their primary responsibilities depending on the area they represent. Everyone on the team should actively participate in discussions to analyze the information, make the assessment, and develop intervention or threat management plans through the lenses of their expertise.
Moreover, the BTAM team will operate efficiently if every team member can assist with information gathering, so that the workload is shared across team members. Below are some suggested primary responsibilities by type of role.
School Administrator
- Consults with team members to screen cases and helps to determine when to conduct an initial screening or mobilize a full threat assessment inquiry
- Assists in having conversations with subjects of concern, targets, witnesses, teachers, staff, parents, and students
- Assists in gathering additional information (e.g., school records)
- Determines and enforces disciplinary consequences, if appropriate
- Ensures that any intervention or threat management plan is followed and monitored
- Works closely with the public information officer or communications director to respond to community concerns and questions
School Psychologist, Social Worker, Counselor, or Other Mental Health Professionals
- Assists in having conversations with subjects of concern, targets, witnesses, teachers, staff, parents, students
- Serves as a liaison with mental health providers
- Advises the team on school-based and community interventions and supports, including possible mental health and behavioral assessments, where appropriate
- Assists with next steps and possible referrals
- Helps delivery services outlined in the management plan, if appropriate
School Resource Officer (SRO) or Other School Safety Professional
- Help with critical data collection, particularly social media
- Identify concurrent safety concerns in the community
- Provide information regarding prior involvement with law enforcement, as privacy guidelines allow
- Assists in conducting interviews of subjects, targets, witnesses, teachers, staff, parents, and students
- Assists with efforts to ensure safety and security (e.g., provide safety escorts or increased supervision to-from school, in hallways, and common areas; work with local law enforcement to ensure community safety after school hours)
- Conducts independent criminal investigations, as needed and appropriate
- Serves as a liaison with law enforcement, court personnel, juvenile justice, probation, etc. to help students on a more positive pathway
- Provide mentoring and community supports
- Uses discretion to determine the need for welfare checks, weapons checks, and home searches, where permissible
- Assists with next steps and possible referrals
Special Education Personnel
- Must be engaged as a BTA team member if student of concern is receiving special education services
- Assist with screening cases that involve students receiving special education services.
- Assist in reviewing information and making assessments in cases that involve students receiving special education services.
- Assist in developing, implementing, and monitoring intervention plans in cases that involve students receiving special education services.
- Ensures special education protocols and procedures are followed, as needed
In some cases, additional personnel may be needed to help with gathering information, making the assessment, implementing interventions, or other support measures to reduce risk. At your school, it might include educators with specific knowledge and expertise; an expert in behavioral threat assessment and management to assist the team with complex or high-risk cases; or contacts within local community programs.
What’s the Difference Between School-Level and District-Level BTA Teams?
Individual schools and districts can structure their BTAM team(s) to meet their needs based on the number of schools and campuses as well as resources available. Below are some common team configurations among BTAM teams across the country.
- One district-wide team. Districts may opt to operate one BTAM team to serve all schools within the district. Districts that have only one BTAM team may also choose to operate small screening teams in each school within the district.
- Multiple school teams within a district. The district may choose to develop teams for each school or for groups of schools.
- District team and multiple school teams. The district may have one central or “core” team that provides oversight, consistency, and accountability for all BTAM processes (and manages threats impacting the whole district). They might also implement individual school or area teams that address cases in their respective areas of responsibility and share information consistently with the central team.
- Regional team. Smaller districts with limited resources might build a regional team as a resource for all schools within a broad area.
School districts can have latitude (subject to state law) to structure their BTA program and teams to best meet the needs of the district.
Common Challenges BTA Teams May Face
Just like any team or group, BTA teams may face challenges typical to group activities and interactions. There are three areas that stand out as challenges for BTA teams at schools. If you’re familiar with Tuckman’s 5 stages of team development, these will sound familiar.
Forming Stage
New BTA teams may experience growing pains typically experienced by new teams, including uncertainty among team members as to their roles and responsibilities, confusion over what procedures to follow, and/or reluctance to fully interact with people they do not yet know.
Teams need clear guidance on roles, responsibilities, and procedures can help alleviate these concerns. Providing expert training to the whole team on how to conduct behavioral threat assessments is also critical to help the teams get up and running effectively.
Storming Stage
BTA teams that have moved past their initial period of working together may experience some team-related conflict. After the initial forming period, teams often move into a stage of conflict known as “storming.” In this stage, BTA teams may experience disagreements among team members as to how to approach situations, arguments over who is responsible for what, or dissatisfaction and disillusionment with the work of the team.
It’s critical for teams to have hands-on training and tabletop exercises at this stage to help BTA teams improve collaboration and work together toward the shared goal of school safety. It can help to bring in an outside facilitator to direct these exercises and provide feedback from the perspective of a professional with direct experience in BTA.
Performing Stage
For BTA teams that have been operating for a while, they may experience dips in performance due to turnover in team membership, fatigue, or external challenges such as pressure from parents or the community.
These challenges can be addressed through various mechanisms, including ensuring new team members are trained, providing time to bond as team members, and taking time to celebrate the work of the team.
The work of school BTA teams can be incredible gratifying but also taxing. Finding ways to congratulate each other for situations that were handled well and actively supporting each other through complex cases, can help team members feel valued and seen as human beings and members of the team.
Making Your School’s BTAM Team Successful
The growing number of states requiring formal BTAM teams reflects what school safety professionals have known for years: no single person (or two) can effectively assess and manage behavioral threats alone. Building a team with the right members, clear responsibilities, and robust processes to weather crises together is the standard your district should be working toward.
If additional expertise is needed as you build a team or face a high-risk threat, the SIGMA team is an industry-leading collective of behavioral threat assessment experts available to consult with BTA teams across the country.
Dr. Marisa Randazzo
Recommended Resource
Get a better understanding of how student wellbeing is the key to early intervention and behavioral threat assessment in our comprehensive guide.
