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Threat Assessment

The Safe and Supportive Schools team is tasked with conducting behavioral threat assessments and determining the best course of action to support an individual who made a threat and the victims of the threat.  

Each TBP campus has a threat assessment team, as part of the Safe and Supportive Schools Program established by the 86th Texas Legislature in Senate Bill 11. Harmful, threatening, or violent behavior includes behaviors, such as verbal threats, threats of self-harm, bullying, cyberbullying, fighting, the use or possession of a weapon, sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating violence, stalking or assault. 

Conducting Threat Assessments

In accordance with Texas Education Code §37.115(f)(1), the SSSP team must conduct threat assessments, determine the level of risk and provide interventions to support the individual for whom the threat assessment was conducted and the victim of the threat.

  • Threat assessments are intended to prevent targeted violence. It involves assessment and intervention.

  • Threat assessments are designed for use with students who are engaged in circumstances that suggest the potential for aggression directed at other people.

  • The threat assessment process is centered upon the analysis of the facts and evidence of behavior or communication in a given situation that might suggest an individual intends to mount an attack and is engaged in planning or preparing for that event.

Framework and Procedures

Prevention (Before)

  • Each campus has a “Level 1” Threat Assessment Team.

  • All staff members and students are trained in the process of intervening, the signs to look for and the process of reporting threats.

  • Students, parents, and staff members have an anonymous reporting system. 

Intervention (Once a Threat is Made)

  • Determine if there is imminent danger.  

  • A member of the Level 1 team will speak with the student who made the report and the student who made the threat.

  • The Level 1 team meets to determine the course of action. 

  • The team takes appropriate precautions to ensure safety during the investigation.

  • Gather information about the student from teachers and other staff members using a questionnaire.

  • Once all the information is gathered, the team meets to analyze the data and determine the level of risk. Together, they develop a Safety and Support Plan to address the concern.

Postvention (After)

  • The campus offers counseling and ongoing support to the student who made the threat, any student who was targeted and bystanders who were affected in a negative way.

  • Campus follows the Student Safety and Support Plan and modifies it as needed.

  • The District provides ongoing reminders of the reporting process at all age levels.