SCHOOL-BASED THREAT ASSESSMENTAND SAFETY MANAGEMENT

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Randall Ranes, DirectorInstructional Support Services Division Bakersfield City School District

March 16, 2010Bakersfield, California

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Define threats and threat assessment Gather and use information to fairly,

rationally, and consistently identify and respond to threats

Maintain a safe school environment by preventing a violent act

Resolve student conflicts or problems that underlie threatening behavior

Develop safety plans directly linked to circumstances in which the threat was made

Objectives

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AUDIENCE QUESTIONS

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Materials Provided Copy of the PowerPoint slides.Safety procedure flowchart for threat assessment.

Protocol for Emergency Release of Student Records.

Board Policy 300.36 (Crisis Prevention and Intervention).

http://www.bcsd.com/instructionalservices/

A threat is an expression of intent to harm someone.

Threat Assessment is a process of evaluating a threat and the circumstances around it to uncover facts to indicate whether the threat is likely to be carried out and then what should be done about it.

Definitions and Concepts

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Attacks are rarely sudden or impulsive Prior to the attacks, other people knew about the idea or

plans to attack Most attackers did not threaten their targets directly prior

to the act There is no accurate or useful profile of students who

engage in such attacks Most attackers showed some behavior before the incident

that caused others concern or indicated a need for help Most attackers had difficulty coping with significant losses

or personal failures Many attackers had contemplated or attempted suicide Many attackers felt bullied, persecuted or injured by others

before the attack Most attackers had access to weapons and had used them

before the attack In many cases, other students were involved in some

capacity

Threat Assessment: Key Findings

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Transient Threat – Not a serious threat and can be easily resolved.

Substantive Threat – Expressions of a continuing intent to harm someone.◦ Serious Substantive Threat- involves a threat to

hit or beat up someone. ◦ Very Serious Substantive Threat - involves a

threat to kill, rape, use a weapon on, or severely injure someone.

Evaluating and Classifying Threats

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An angry student says, “I’m gonna kill you.” On interview, the student says he has no plans to harm the classmate and that he just lost his temper. He agrees to apologize.

a. No threat b. Transient threat c. Serious substantive threat d. Very serious substantive threat

Hypotheticals: Practice Classifying Threats

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Two students argue, and one punches the other. On interview, the student says he should not have lost his temper but that he acted in self-defense.

a. No threat b. Transient threat c. Serious substantive threatd. Very serious substantive threat

Practice Classifying Threats (Continued)

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A student tells a friend that he will beat up someone in the parking lot after school. On interview, the student is uncooperative and says that what he does after school is his own business.

a. No threat b. Transient threat c. Serious substantive threatd. Very serious substantive threat

Practice Classifying Threats (Continued)

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A student is found with a list of student names under the heading “Scheduled to Die.” On interview, the student is sullen and quiet. You do not believe he was simply trying to get attention.

a. No threat b. Transient threat c. Serious substantive threatd. Very serious substantive threat

Practice Classifying Threats (Continued)

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A student has a list of student names under the heading “Punks to Beat Up.” On interview, the student describes feeling angry at his peers and perceives them as laughing at him all the time. He says that he wasn’t going to really hurt anyone, but he has a history of fighting.

a. No threat b. Transient threat c. Serious substantive threatd. Very serious substantive threat

Practice Classifying Threats (Continued)

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A student tells two friends that she is going to stab another student. On interview, the student says, “Well, she deserves it!”

a. No threat b. Transient threat c. Serious substantive threatd. Very serious substantive threat

Practice Classifying Threats (Continued)

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A student screams obscene insults at a teacher and then storms out of the classroom. On interview, the student says that the teacher isn’t fair.

a. No threat b. Transient threat c. Serious substantive threatd. Very serious substantive threat

Practice Classifying Threats (Continued)

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A student turns in an English essay that describes a violent scene from a war. On interview, the student says that his uncle is fighting in the Middle East.

a. No threat b. Transient threat c. Serious substantive threatd. Very serious substantive threat

Practice Classifying Threats (Continued)

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A student says a bully is threatening to beat him up at the bus stop after school. On interview, the accused student denies making a threat. You aren’t sure who is telling the truth.

a. No threat b. Transient threat c. Serious substantive threatd. Very serious substantive threat

Practice Classifying Threats (Continued)

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A fourth grade student tells a classmate that he is going to burn down the school. On interview, the student denies making the statement. His teacher has seen him drawing a map of the school and knows he is upset over being disciplined in the classroom.

a. No threat b. Transient threat c. Serious substantive threatd. Very serious substantive threat

Practice Classifying Threats (Continued)

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A second grade student threatens to stab a classmate with a pair of scissors. On interview, the student says she was joking and wouldn’t hurt anyone.

a. No threat b. Transient threat c. Serious substantive threatd. Very serious substantive threat

Practice Classifying Threats (Continued)

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A parent says that three students who are part of a gang, threatened to beat up her son for walking down their street on the way to school. On interview, the boy denies being threatened. The three students deny making a threat. You know they belong to a gang-like group and doubt they are telling the truth.

a. No threat b. Transient threat c. Serious substantive threatd. Very serious substantive threat

Practice Classifying Threats (Continued)

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A student is reported to have a web site containing threats to “blow away” several classmates. On interview, the student says the Web site is just a joke. He says he has the right to free speech on the Internet. His classmates say they are worried he will do something to hurt them.

a. No threat b. Transient threat c. Serious substantive threatd. Very serious substantive threat

Practice Classifying Threats (Continued)

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Transient Threat – Not a serious threat and can be easily resolved

Substantive Threat – Expressions of a continuing intent to harm someone.◦ Serious Substantive Threat- involves a threat to

hit or beat up someone ◦ Very Serious Substantive Threat - involves a

threat to kill, rape, use a weapon on, or severely injure someone

Threat Evaluation: Review and Summary

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The District discipline code determines the disciplinary consequences for a threat.

The “duty to protect” drives threat assessment.

Responding to Threats: Discipline and Threat Assessment,

Two Different Processes

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The prevention of serious acts of planned violence requires a systematic approach to assessing and managing risk for violence. Management of threatening situations . . . typically involves three functions: (a)controlling/containing the situation and/or student in a way that will prevent the possibility of an attack; (b)protecting and aiding possible targets of the attack; and (c)providing support and guidance to help the student resolve the issues giving rise to an attack motive.

Crisis Prevention and Intervention, Board Policy 300.36

Issues in Responding to Substantive Threats

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Federal and state law prevents the disclosure of personally identifiable information from a pupil record unless the school can establish a legally sufficient reason for the disclosure (see Pupil Records, Board Policy 605.7)

A school district may disclose information from a

pupil record in connection with an emergency if knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the pupil or other person, the determination is based on an articulable and significant threat to the health or safety of a pupil or other individuals, and the disclosure is limited to those persons who can take protective actions (Title 34, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 99.32)

Privacy and Emergency Communications

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An angry student says, “I’m gonna kill you.” Now that the threat has been resolved as transient, what is the next thing to do?

a. Take no further action b. Suspend the student for 5 days c. Refer the student for a mental health assessment d. Refer the two students for conflict mediation

Hypotheticals: Practice Responding to Threats

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Two students argue, and one punches the other. The student has assaulted his classmate, but he has not expressed an intent to harm him in the future, so no threat has been made. The student admitted that he should not have lost his temper but acted in self-defense. Is there anything else to do?

a. Take no further actionb. Discipline the student for punching a peerc. Interview the students to determine if they still want to

fightd. Refer the two students for conflict mediation

Practice Responding to Threats (Continued)

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A student tells a friend that he will beat up someone in the parking lot after school. The student was uncooperative, and you classified the case as a serious substantive threat. What else do you do?

a. Notify the intended victim and the victim’s parents

b. Ask the school police officer to arrest the studentc. Refer the student for a mental health

assessmentd. Take protective action by notifying the student’s

parents and having them take their son home after school

Practice Responding to Threats (Continued)

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A student is found with a list of student names under the heading “Scheduled to Die.” The student was sullen and uncooperative, and you did not believe the student was joking or simply trying to get attention. The threat also involved a felonious assault, so you classified the threat as a very serious substantive threat. What should you do?

a. Refer the student for a mental health assessmentb. Notify the intended victims and the victims’ parentsc. Consult with law enforcementd. Expel the student for his plans to carry out a very

serious substantive threat

Practice Responding to Threats (Continued)

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A student has a list of student names under the heading “Punks to Beat Up.” Because the problem did not seem to be resolved and it involved a plan to batter someone, the threat was classified as a serious substantive threat. What can you do?

a. Refer the student for mental health assessmentb. Notify the intended victims and the victims’

parentsc. Refer the student for counselingd. Take protective action by keeping the student

under supervision until his parents take custody

Practice Responding to Threats (Continued)

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A student tells two friends that she is going to stab another student. Considering this threat was not resolved and involved potential injury with a weapon, you classified it as a very serious substantive threat. Now what are some steps you should take?

a. Search the student’s desk or other possessions to see if she has a weapon

b. Refer the students for peer mediationc. Notify the intended victim and the victim’s

parentsd. Take protective action by having the police

arrest the student

Practice Responding to Threats (Continued)

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A student says he is going to rape a specified student in the bathroom after school. Because the threat was not resolved and involved a potential sexual battery, it was classified as a very serious substantive threat. What are your options?

a. Refer the student for a mental health assessment

b. Refer the students for peer mediationc. Notify the intended victim and the victim’s

parents d. Suspend the student until he is willing to explain

himself

Practice Responding to Threats (Continued)

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A student says she’s going to break both legs of a student for beating her in a race. The student’s claim that she was joking was confirmed by other witnesses, and the threat was classified as transient. What do you do next?

a. Refer the student for counselingb. Refer the students for peer mediationc. Take no further actiond. Interview the other student to gain her

perspective

Practice Responding to Threats (Continued)

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A student screams obscene insults at a teacher and then storms out of the classroom. The student has a history of angry outbursts and conflict with this teacher, and he has claimed that the teacher does not treat him fairly. However, no threat has been made. What actions should be taken?

a. Take no further actionb. Refer the student for counselingc. Refer the student for special education evaluationd. Interview the student

Practice Responding to Threats (Continued)

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A student turns in an English essay that describes a violent scene from a war. He is a good student who writes descriptive essays. He admires his uncle who is fighting in the Middle East. No threat has been made, so what do you do?

a. Take no further actionb. Refer him to counseling to help him realize that

fighting is not something to be respectedc. Notify his parents of the content of his essayd. Discipline the student for expressing violent

content in a school assignment

Practice Responding to Threats (Continued)

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A student says a bully is threatening to beat him up at the bus stop after school. He said the bully has threatened him several other times this year, but he was too afraid to say anything. The other student claimed that he has never threatened him. You were unsure about who to believe, but you classified the threat as a serious substantive threat because it involves a battery. What should you do next?

a. Notify both of the student’s parentsb. Take protective action by supervising both boys until their

parents can take custody of themc. Refer both boys for mental health assessments to determine

who is lyingd. Refer the boys for peer mediation

Practice Responding to Threats (Continued)

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A second grade student threatens to stab a classmate with a pair of scissors. The student’s friends confirmed that her statement was a joke, and the classmate who was threatened did not feel the student would actually carry out the threat. The threat was classified as transient. Should you do anything else?

a. Refer the two students for peer mediationb. Notify the intended victim’s parentsc. Take no protective actiond. Refer the student for character education training

Practice Responding to Threats (Continued)

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A parent says that three students who are part of a gang threatened to beat up her son for walking down their street on the way to school. When interviewed, the student denied that any threat was made and requested that the three students not be disciplined. Not knowing what to believe but realizing the threat involved an assault, you classified it as a serious substantive threat. Now what should you do?

a. Involve law enforcement to investigate the matter

b. Refer all students for peer mediation c. Take no further action d. Take protective action by keeping all students in school until their parents pick them up

Practice Responding to Threats (Continued)

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A student is reported to have a Web site containing threats to “blow away” several classmates. After being caught, the student continued to claim that he has the freedom to say whatever he wants on the Web site and that it is none of the school’s business. Considering the threat was not resolved and it involved a threat to kill, you classified it as a very serious substantive threat. What course of action should you take?

a. Notify the intended victims and their parentsb. Refer the student for a mental health assessmentc. Have the police search the student to determine whether

he has a weapond. Expel the student for his plans to harm his classmates and

his refusal to discuss the issue

Practice Responding to Threats (Continued)

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Resolve IssuesSafety Management Plans

Summary: Duty to Protect

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Establish prevention (identification and management) plans to include:◦ Threat assessment procedures◦ General factors to enhance safety

“Organized” school Avoidance of harsh punishment practices Approval used more frequently than disapproval Effective instructional programs Minimize victimization Addressing student losses and grievances

ACTION P

LANS

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Seek firearm removal, lock up and trigger guard (Notice in Guide to Parents and Students, also see Parent Rights and Responsibilities, BP 300.48)

Tell parent of legal duties◦ Liability (Guide, section concerning “Parent

Liability”)◦ Negligence◦ Notices re: restrictions on minor possessing

firearm

ACTION P

LANS

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As a general rule, a mental health practitioner has no duty to warn third persons about, nor any duty to predict, a patient's dangerous propensities. This rule is subject to an important exception: when a patient, or a member of the patient's family, has “communicated to the psychotherapist a serious threat of physical violence against a reasonably identifiable victim,” the psychotherapist must take reasonable steps to warn the victim and a law enforcement agency of the threat (Civil Code, § 43.92, subds.(a), (b) (section 43.92)).

Illustration: Duty to Warn in Another

Profession

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Avoid giving specific or implied promises to provide warnings or protection

Avoid making statements which minimize the actual peril faced by the target or witness who then detrimentally relies on such statements

Do not place an unprotected target or witness in close proximity to someone who poses a foreseeable threat to that target or witness

Do not request that a target or witness perform a function which involves a foreseeable risk

Safety Management Plans: General Considerations

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Closing Comments

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