Fact claims

The U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) was created in 1998 to provide guidance on threat assessment both within the U.S. Secret Service and to others with criminal justice and public safety responsibilities.

While K-12 schools are safe places and have become even safer in recent years (Musu-Gillette et al., 2017), incidents of targeted violence continue to attract widespread attention and concern across communities.

In this context, districts and states have increasingly turned to the use of behavioral threat assessment and management (BTAM) to assess concerning or threatening behaviors and provide appropriate interventions and supports to reduce the risk of harm.

Across the United States, 38 states require using BTAM by law or encourage it by policy (National Association of State Boards of Education, n.d.).

Current data indicate that 85% of public schools in the United States report having a behavioral threat assessment team in place (U.S. Department of Education, n.d.) whether or not their state requires it.

The U.S. Secret Service pioneered BTAM in the early 1990s to protect prominent public officials and persons.

Since then, it has been adapted to prevent acts of targeted violence that impact other areas of the community, such as schools

Following the tragic school shootings in Parkland, FL and Santa Fe, TX in 2018, the Secret Service launched an initiative to provide updated research and guidance to school personnel and other public safety partners on the prevention of school-based violence.

Some schools proactively build partnerships by encouraging officers to coteach classes, serve as coaches or assistant coaches of sports teams, and/or work with parents and teachers at after-school events.

When assigning a dedicated school resource officer is not possible, some local law enforcement agencies have encouraged officers to “adopt a school” and regularly visit the school to greet and become familiar with students and teachers, eat lunch on

INTENSIVE INTERVENTION AND REPORTING • Comprehensive assessments (including functional behavioral assessments) • Individualized management and support plans • Individualized safety plans • Wraparound supports

EARLY IDENTIFICATION, ASSESSMENT, & TARGETED INTERVENTION • SEB skill development • Small groups (e.g., anger management, conflict resolution, social skills, trauma) • School-based mental health supports • Targeted supports for internalizing behaviors • Check-In/Check-Out • Triage • Safety checks • Bullying and harassment prevention

AWARENESS AND PREVENTION • Cultivate positive, connected, encouraging, unconditional relationships • Teach prosocial behavior • Enhanced SEB learning • Teach students how to recognize concerns in peers • Teach families how to recognize concerning behavior • Teach students and families how to report concerns as an act of caring • Bullying and harassment prevention • Suicide prevention • Mental health first aid