Responses suggest schools scope BTAM programs to the most severe, high-risk cases
Responses suggest that schools are appropriately scoping their BTAM programs to focus on the most severe and high-risk cases of student behavior.
NCIER®
Scope Severity Focus
76 claims on pp. 6–150 (fact 35, statement 22, evidence 1, conclusion 4, conjecture 7, definition 7).
Claims about Scope Severity Focus
Concerns about BTAM use for minor behavioral issues have not materialized, per principal reports
behavioral issues have not materialized, at least according to our principal reports.
Why inferred The sentence crosses a page break: this quote is the page 7 part and the sentence begins on page 6. Full sentence (pages 6–7): “Concerns that BTAM might be used for minor behavioral issues have not materialized, at least according to our principal reports.”
Schools maintain clear referral thresholds focused on serious safety concerns
Schools are maintaining clear thresholds for referring cases to BTAM teams, focusing on serious safety concerns.
Focused approach helps preserve the integrity of the threat assessment process
This focused approach helps preserve the integrity of the threat assessment process.
BTAM is designed to respond to a variety of behaviors of concern, not only explicit threats
the BTAM approach is designed to respond to a variety of behaviors of concern, not limited to explicit or direct threats.
cite page 38 Ch 4: What Is the Scope of Schools' BTAM Programs?
NTAC: other concerning behavior may warrant BTAM team assessment and response
NTAC guidance also identifies a constellation of “other concerning behavior” that may warrant an assessment and response by the BTAM team, including a variety of indicators of stress, inappropriate interest in violent topics (e.g., past school attackers, weapons), interpersonal conflicts, suicidality, or other concerns that might lead to a potential harmful outcome if not addressed.
cite page 38 Ch 4: What Is the Scope of Schools' BTAM Programs?
BTAM teams are not intended as the primary vehicle for lower-level concerns or routine discipline
BTAM teams are not intended to be the primary vehicle for schools to respond to lower-level behavioral or mental health concerns, signals of change in a student’s well-being (e.g., depression, bullying, declining grades), or such routine school discipline issues as classroom disruption.
cite page 38 Ch 4: What Is the Scope of Schools' BTAM Programs?
Survey explored principals' descriptions of BTAM scope by incident and behavior types
In our survey, we explored how principals described the scope of their BTAM programs in terms of the types of incidents and behaviors that would be addressed by a BTAM team.
cite page 38 Ch 4: What Is the Scope of Schools' BTAM Programs?
Survey item: scope of threatening or concerning behavior the BTAM team responds to
We asked principals, “What is the scope of the threatening or concerning behavior to which your school or district’s BTAM team responds?”
cite page 38 Ch 4: What Is the Scope of Schools' BTAM Programs?
Principals chose among eight example behaviors which, if any, would be referred to their BTAM team
We listed eight examples of threatening or concerning behavior that a student might exhibit and asked principals to select which, if any, would be referred to their school’s BTAM team.
cite page 38 Ch 4: What Is the Scope of Schools' BTAM Programs?
Ninety-three percent of principals said official BTAM teams would respond to very serious behavior
Sample (N = 1401) · Schools with an official BTAM team (Figure 4.1 official-team column; N printed in Table A.35)
Ninety-three percent of principals indicated that their official BTAM teams would respond to very serious threatening or concerning behavior, such as students who directed threats toward other students or school staff, and students who made threats of or may be intending to commit mass violence against the school or school community.
cite page 38 Ch 4: What Is the Scope of Schools' BTAM Programs?
About 80 percent of principals said BTAM teams would respond to other serious concerns
Sample (N = 1401) · Schools with an official BTAM team (Figure 4.1 official-team column; N printed in Table A.35)
About 80 percent of principals responded that their
Why inferred The sentence crosses a page break: this quote is the page 38 part and the sentence continues on page 39 (claim p039-01). Full sentence (pages 38–39): “About 80 percent of principals responded that their schools’ BTAM teams would respond to other serious concerns, such as students at risk of self-harm or suicide or students with fixations on past school violence incidents or interest in violence or extremist movements.”
cite page 38 Ch 4: What Is the Scope of Schools' BTAM Programs?
BTAM teams would respond to serious concerns such as self-harm, suicide risk, violence fixations
schools’ BTAM teams would respond to other serious concerns, such as students at risk of self-harm or suicide or students with fixations on past school violence incidents or interest in violence or extremist movements.
cite page 39 Ch 4: What Is the Scope of Schools' BTAM Programs?
Comparing official and BTAM-like teams shows the scope of official teams versus broader-remit teams
Comparing and contrasting the responses of schools that have official BTAM teams versus these school-based BTAM-like teams help provide some insight as to the scope of official BTAM teams compared with teams that would have a broader remit by definition.
cite page 39 Ch 4: What Is the Scope of Schools' BTAM Programs?
Few official BTAM teams deal with low-level behavior such as classroom disruption
As shown in Figure 4.1, few official BTAM teams deal with low-level concerning behavior, such as regular classroom disruption and disrespect of school staff.
cite page 39 Ch 4: What Is the Scope of Schools' BTAM Programs?
Principals' responses suggest lower-level concerns are appropriately handled by other teams
Principals’ responses suggest that these lower-level behavioral concerns are appropriately addressed by other teams schools may have in place, such as MTSS or PBIS teams that operate alongside, but separate from, the school BTAM team.
cite page 39 Ch 4: What Is the Scope of Schools' BTAM Programs?
Official BTAM teams appear to be focused on the most serious concerns
Official BTAM teams appear to be focused on the most serious concerns.
cite page 39 Ch 4: What Is the Scope of Schools' BTAM Programs?
BTAM-like teams responded more often to low-level incidents and less serious behavior
Principals also reported that such teams as the ones described above responded more often to low-level incidents and less serious behavior.
cite page 39 Ch 4: What Is the Scope of Schools' BTAM Programs?
Fig 4.1 Serious: threats at/violent toward other students: official 93 pct, alternative team 69 pct
Sample (column N undeterminable) · Figure 4.1 columns: official-team schools and alternative-team schools
Serious: Students who have directed threats at or may be violent toward other individual students* | 93 | 69
cite page 39 Ch 4: What Is the Scope of Schools' BTAM Programs?
Fig 4.1 Serious: threats/violent toward school staff: official 92 pct, alternative team 68 pct
Sample (column N undeterminable) · Figure 4.1 columns: official-team schools and alternative-team schools
Serious: Students who have made threats or may be violent toward school staff*a | 92 | 68
cite page 39 Ch 4: What Is the Scope of Schools' BTAM Programs?
Fig 4.1 Serious: mass violence threats/intent: official 88 pct, alternative team 55 pct
Sample (column N undeterminable) · Figure 4.1 columns: official-team schools and alternative-team schools
Serious: Students who have made threats of or may be intending to commit mass violence against the school or school community* | 88 | 55
cite page 39 Ch 4: What Is the Scope of Schools' BTAM Programs?
Fig 4.1 Serious: self-harm or suicide risk: official 83 pct, alternative team 74 pct
Sample (column N undeterminable) · Figure 4.1 columns: official-team schools and alternative-team schools
Serious: Students who may be at risk of self-harm or suicide* | 83 | 74
cite page 39 Ch 4: What Is the Scope of Schools' BTAM Programs?
Fig 4.1 Serious: fixations on past violence/extremism: official 81 pct, alternative team 54 pct
Sample (column N undeterminable) · Figure 4.1 columns: official-team schools and alternative-team schools
Serious: Students with fixations on past school violence incidents, interest in violence or extremist movements*b | 81 | 54
cite page 39 Ch 4: What Is the Scope of Schools' BTAM Programs?
Fig 4.1 Serious: regular aggression toward peers: official 69 pct, alternative team 78 pct
Sample (column N undeterminable) · Figure 4.1 columns: official-team schools and alternative-team schools
Serious: Students who are regularly involved in aggressive behavior towards peers*c | 69 | 78
cite page 39 Ch 4: What Is the Scope of Schools' BTAM Programs?
Fig 4.1 Lower-level: regularly disruptive to instruction: official 27 pct, alternative team 71 pct
Sample (column N undeterminable) · Figure 4.1 columns: official-team schools and alternative-team schools
Lower-level: Students whose behavior is regularly disruptive to instruction* | 27 | 71
cite page 39 Ch 4: What Is the Scope of Schools' BTAM Programs?
Fig 4.1 Lower-level: disrespectful to staff: official 20 pct, alternative team 54 pct
Sample (column N undeterminable) · Figure 4.1 columns: official-team schools and alternative-team schools
Lower-level: Students who are disrespectful or argumentative with teachers or other school staff* | 20 | 54
cite page 39 Ch 4: What Is the Scope of Schools' BTAM Programs?
Figure 4.1 source item and n: scope of behavior to which the BTAM team responds (n = 1,635)
This figure depicts response data from the following survey questions: “What is the scope of the threatening or concerning behavior to which your school or district's BTAM team responds?” (n = 1,635).
cite page 39 Ch 4: What Is the Scope of Schools' BTAM Programs?
Footnote a: threats against teachers as an example of threats toward school staff
For example, threats against teachers.
cite page 39 Ch 4: What Is the Scope of Schools' BTAM Programs?
Footnote b: fixation examples are Columbine, animal cruelty or abuse, extremist or violent sites
For example, fixation on Columbine attacks, fixation on animal cruelty or abuse, or viewing websites with extremist or violent content.
cite page 39 Ch 4: What Is the Scope of Schools' BTAM Programs?
Footnote c: regular aggression examples are verbal or limited physical conflicts, bullying, fighting
For example, frequent verbal or limited physical conflicts without concerns about weapon use, bullying, or fighting.
cite page 39 Ch 4: What Is the Scope of Schools' BTAM Programs?
Differences in frequency are likely related to the types of cases referred to BTAM teams
These differences in frequency with which schools use specific interventions are likely related to the types of cases referred to BTAM teams—that is, incidents that involve substance use may be rarer as part of the case types referred to BTAM teams, therefore leading schools to only rarely include such treatment as part of an intervention plan.
cite page 64 Ch 9: How Do BTAM Teams Develop Intervention Plans?
Patterns give some initial confidence schools scale interventions to incident types and severity
confidence that schools are scaling their interventions to the types and severity of incidents under the purview of their BTAM teams.
cite page 66 Ch 9: How Do BTAM Teams Develop Intervention Plans?
Scenario questions let authors examine how schools determine BTAM boundaries and criteria
These scenario-based questions allowed us to examine in more depth how schools are determining the boundaries and criteria for their BTAM programs.
cite page 74 Ch 11: How Are Schools Using BTAM to Respond to Student Behavior?
Principals' scenario responses used to see which incidents involve BTAM teams and how
We first use principals’ responses to scenarios to discern what sorts of incidents involve school BTAM teams and how they are involved.
cite page 75 Ch 11: How Are Schools Using BTAM to Respond to Student Behavior?
Scenario data point to three types of situations showing how schools use BTAM teams
Across both elementary and secondary schools, our scenario data point to three types of situations that depict how schools are using BTAM teams:
cite page 79 Ch 11: How Are Schools Using BTAM to Respond to Student Behavior?
Low end (Scenarios A, I, K): teacher-handled class disruption or athletic-activity fight
At the low end of the spectrum are situations that might simply be dealt with by a teacher (Scenarios A, I, and K). These scenarios involved disruptive student behavior during class (e.g., interrupting lessons by talking with other students) or a fight between two students during an athletic activity.
cite page 79 Ch 11: How Are Schools Using BTAM to Respond to Student Behavior?
Low-end scenarios: 26 to 28 percent would inform BTAM team; 72 to 73 percent would not
Sample (N = 353 total; column N not printed) · Scenario A respondents (observations)
About one-quarter of respondents (26 percent to 28 percent) indicated that their school would inform their BTAM team of these types of incidents, but in the majority of cases (72 percent to 73 percent), the BTAM team would not be notified the incident occurred.
cite page 79 Ch 11: How Are Schools Using BTAM to Respond to Student Behavior?
Middle scenarios at elementary level: B and C, physical altercations with other risk factors
At the elementary level, these situations included Scenario B and Scenario C, which depicted physical altercations paired with other potential risk factors, such as substance use or parental refusal to allow their student to participate in supports for neurodiverse learners.
cite page 80 Ch 11: How Are Schools Using BTAM to Respond to Student Behavior?
Middle scenarios, secondary: J, L, M mix risk factors, usually one violence-suggestive element
At the secondary level, they included Scenarios J, L, and M, depicting incidents integrating a mix of risk factors, with usually only one element suggestive of potential violence.
cite page 80 Ch 11: How Are Schools Using BTAM to Respond to Student Behavior?
Schools appear to be appropriately scoping BTAM to the most severe, high-risk cases
Responses suggest that schools are appropriately scoping their BTAM programs to focus on the most severe and high-risk cases of student behavior.
A main concern is that schools may cast an overly wide net to low-level incidents
One of the main concerns about BTAM is the possibility that schools may cast an overly wide net, such that their BTAM program addresses low-level behavioral incidents (e.g., talking back to a teacher or other disruptive classroom behavior) best suited for other school behavioral management and student support systems.
Principals’ reports largely suggest the overly-wide-net concern has not played out
Reports from school principals largely suggest this concern has not played out.
Survey results suggest BTAM teams stayed focused on potentially serious safety concerns
Instead, our survey results suggest schools’ BTAM teams have maintained a focus on those incidents that align with their core mission of identifying and intervening in potentially serious school safety concerns.
Schools mostly use distinct thresholds to decide which incidents are referred to BTAM teams
distinct thresholds to determine which incidents warrant referral to BTAM teams, particularly in cases of significant concern.
Why inferred The sentence crosses a page break: this quote is the page 109 part and the sentence begins on page 108. Full sentence (pages 108–109): “Both analyses revealed that schools mostly use distinct thresholds to determine which incidents warrant referral to BTAM teams, particularly in cases of significant concern.”
Schools are successfully focusing BTAM on situations most likely to affect safety
Taken together, our results suggest schools are successfully focusing BTAM on situations most likely to affect student and school safety while relying on other behavioral teams or processes for less severe cases—a critical balance that helps maintain the integrity of the behavioral threat assessment process.
A.35 Students whose be…: 33.8 (all teams incl. other school-based), 27.5 (official BTAM teams only)
Sample (N = 1635 | 1401 by column) · Table A.35 columns: Official BTAM teams and other school-based teams | Official BTAM teams only (N row printed on p129, continuation page)
Students whose behavior is regularly disruptive to instruction | 33.8 | 27.5
A.35 Students who are…: 25.2 (all teams incl. other school-based), 20.3 (official BTAM teams only)
Sample (N = 1635 | 1401 by column) · Table A.35 columns: Official BTAM teams and other school-based teams | Official BTAM teams only (N row printed on p129, continuation page)
Students who are disrespectful or argumentative with teachers or other school staff | 25.2 | 20.3
A.35 Students who may…: 81.3 (all teams incl. other school-based), 82.5 (official BTAM teams only)
Sample (N = 1635 | 1401 by column) · Table A.35 columns: Official BTAM teams and other school-based teams | Official BTAM teams only (N row printed on p129, continuation page)
Students who may be at risk of self-harm or suicide | 81.3 | 82.5
A.35 Students who are…: 70.5 (all teams incl. other school-based), 69.2 (official BTAM teams only)
Sample (N = 1635 | 1401 by column) · Table A.35 columns: Official BTAM teams and other school-based teams | Official BTAM teams only (N row printed on p129, continuation page)
Students who are regularly involved in aggressive behavior toward peers (e.g., frequent verbal or limited physical conflicts without concerns about weapon use, bullying or fighting) | 70.5 | 69.2
A.35 Students with fix…: 76.7 (all teams incl. other school-based), 80.5 (official BTAM teams only)
Sample (N = 1635 | 1401 by column) · Table A.35 columns: Official BTAM teams and other school-based teams | Official BTAM teams only (N row printed on p129, continuation page)
Students with fixations on past school violence incidents, interest in violence or extremist movements (e.g., fixation on Columbine attacks, fixation on animal cruelty or abuse, viewing web sites with extremist or violent web content) | 76.7 | 80.5
A.35 Students who have…: 89.2 (all teams incl. other school-based), 92.6 (official BTAM teams only)
Sample (N = 1635 | 1401 by column) · Table A.35 columns: Official BTAM teams and other school-based teams | Official BTAM teams only (N row printed on p129, continuation page)
Students who have directed threats at or may be violent toward other individual students | 89.2 | 92.6
A.35 Students who have…: 88.4 (all teams incl. other school-based), 91.9 (official BTAM teams only)
Sample (N = 1635 | 1401 by column) · Table A.35 columns: Official BTAM teams and other school-based teams | Official BTAM teams only (N row printed on p129, continuation page)
Students who have made threats or may be violent toward school staff (e.g., threats against teachers) | 88.4 | 91.9
A.35 Students who have…: 82.8 (all teams incl. other school-based), 87.5 (official BTAM teams only)
Sample (N = 1635 | 1401 by column) · Table A.35 columns: Official BTAM teams and other school-based teams | Official BTAM teams only (N row printed on p129, continuation page)
Students who have made threats of or may be intending to commit mass violence against the school or school community | 82.8 | 87.5
A.35 N: all teams incl. other school-based: N=1,635; official BTAM teams only: N=1,401
N | 1,635 | 1,401
A.35 note: Respondents were instructed to select all that apply.
Respondents were instructed to select all that apply.
A.35 note: Only respondents who said their school has a school- or district-level BTAM team (or an a
Only respondents who said their school has a school- or district-level BTAM team (or an alternative team that performs BTAM-like functions) saw this question.
Scenarios mixed severity (low, medium, high) and student populations affected
The scenarios were designed to include a mix of things, including severity of the incident (low, medium, or high) and student populations affected (e.g., special education student, general education student).
Low-severity scenarios: incidents in which BTAM teams likely should not be involved
Low-severity scenarios described incidents in which BTAM teams likely should not be involved (e.g., low-level discipline incidents, such as classroom misbehavior).
High-severity scenarios: BTAM teams definitely should be involved, e.g., direct threats
High-severity scenarios described incidents in which BTAM teams definitely should be involved, such as students making direct threats to themselves or others.
Medium-severity scenarios: borderline cases with more school discretion over BTAM involvement
Medium-severity scenarios were designed to describe borderline cases, in which schools might have more discretion over whether BTAM teams can or should be involved.
Scene A | Low | Elementary: a student repeatedly disruptive in class, wandering, interrupting, and s
A | Low | Elementary | A student is repeatedly disruptive in class, wandering the classroom, interrupting the lesson by talking to other students, and sometimes shouting loudly to get attention. The student does not respond to multiple teacher requests to stop their behavior.
Scene B | Low | Elementary: a student who regularly disrupts class (not considered threatening by te
B | Low | Elementary | A student regularly engages in disruptive behavior during class, but their teachers do not consider their behavior threatening. Last school year, the family declined staff suggestions that the student might benefit from supports for neurodiverse learners. This school year, the student’s behavior has escalated, and the student is involved in a physical altercation with another student that does not result in injuries.
Scene C | Medium | Elementary: a pushing altercation on the bus, the student saying they were trippe
C | Medium | Elementary | A student gets into a pushing altercation with another student on the bus. After the altercation is broken up by the bus driver, the student says they were responding to having been tripped while they were walking down the aisle. During the discussion with the student, the bus driver believes they smell alcohol on the student’s breath. The parents of the other student involved in the altercation call the school the next day concerned for their child’s safety on the bus.
Scene D | Medium | Elementary: a student shouting “I am going to kill you for that” at another stude
D | Medium | Elementary | A student has an intense verbal confrontation with another student at school, shouting, “I am going to kill you for that.” The student has no history of fighting or disruptive behavior but has had academic problems. A teacher who spoke with the student does not believe the threat was serious but does note that the student started crying during their conversation and would not share why they were so upset.
Scene E | Medium | Elementary: a student's drawing assignment depicting someone shooting at a group
E | Medium | Elementary | In a drawing assignment that asked students to visualize different ways to solve problems, a student draws a graphic picture of someone shooting at a group of people, including details like bleeding and other physical injuries. The teacher mentions previous unsuccessful attempts to contact the student’s family about their academic progress, and that the student had recently appeared withdrawn and sad in class.
Scene F | Medium | Elementary: a student with a history of emotional outbursts, non-compliance and d
F | Medium | Elementary | A student has a history of emotional outbursts and non-compliance with directions, including behaviors involving misuse of and damage to school property (e.g., pushing books off shelves, throwing objects). After a teacher attempts to redirect the behavior and takes their materials away, the student shouts, “You will be sorry tomorrow you did that.” The school established there were firearms in the home when responding to past behavioral incidents involving same student.
Scene G | Medium | Elementary: a peer reporting a student repeatedly writing disturbing notes, incre
G | Medium | Elementary | A peer reports that a fellow student has been repeatedly writing them disturbing notes. The student continues to send the notes after having been asked to stop and does not seem concerned about the effects they have been having on the other student. The notes have become more concerning over time, including descriptions of inappropriate contact, but do not include any explicit threats. The student is known to come from an unstable home environment, and the school became aware last year that the student was making repeated comments to their peers about a recent school shooting.
Scene H | High | Elementary: a student with a history of fights and disruption who complained of bei
H | High | Elementary | A student has a history of getting into fights with other students at school and being generally disruptive in the classroom. Earlier this year, the student complained about being singled out and bullied by many other members of the class. The student was later caught bringing a knife to school, explaining it was “for protection,” and an investigation determined that there were firearms in the family home. After a fight on the playground with a classmate, the student yells that “he’d be sorry” and warned another classmate that “they shouldn’t come to school tomorrow.”
Scene I | Low | Secondary: a student repeatedly disruptive in biology class, talking or playing on t
I | Low | Secondary | A student is repeatedly disruptive in their biology class, talking with other students or playing on their phone. Though in a course normally taken by students one grade below theirs, the student still appears to be struggling with the material. The teacher has made attempts to correct or redirect the behavior but has been unsuccessful and reached a point where frustration is affecting the entire class.
Scene J | Medium | Secondary: a student who regularly misses and is late to class, talks back aggres
J | Medium | Secondary | A student regularly misses classes and is repeatedly late to class. The student talks back to teachers in an aggressive tone when they are confronted about their tardiness and absences. After hearing breaking glass in a school bathroom, a hall monitor checks in to find a broken beer bottle on the bathroom floor; the student had just been seen exiting the bathroom.
Scene K | Medium | Secondary: two students pushing each other during a P.E. soccer activity who back
K | Medium | Secondary | During P.E., two students begin pushing each other during a soccer activity. When the P.E. teacher approaches and tells them to stop, both back off and apologize to varying degrees. The teacher notices and is concerned that one of the students still appears angry and agitated after the fight.
Scene L | Medium | Secondary: a student showing a pocketknife to other students in the hallway, sayi
L | Medium | Secondary | A teacher observes a student in the hallway between classes showing off a pocketknife to a group of other students. When questioned, the student replies they only wanted to show their new knife to their friends. No other students present at the time report that the student made threats or engaged in other concerning behavior. The student voluntary relinquishes the knife to the teacher when asked.
Scene M | Medium | Secondary: a student with a 504 plan who distracts peers and rarely completes ass
M | Medium | Secondary | A student regularly distracts peers with side conversations during class and rarely completes assignments despite having a 504 plan for additional academic support. After sustained disruptive behavior, the teacher moves the student to another seat in the classroom, which causes the student to complain they were treated unfairly. The teacher is asked to come to the office to discuss the situation with the student and school staff, at which point the student begins yelling profanities at the teacher. Last year, the student needed to be restrained after becoming violent with a teacher during a school field trip.
Scene N | Medium | Secondary: a student noticing another student especially interested in the Columb
N | Medium | Secondary | A student notices that another student in class is especially interested in the details of the Columbine High School shooting and the personal history of the students involved. The student repeatedly brings up the attackers by name during discussions with peers and has been searching for information about the incident on their school laptop. The teacher has also noticed that the student has become increasingly withdrawn in class.
Scene O | Medium | Secondary: a classmate reporting that a student is connected to a social media ac
O | Medium | Secondary | A classmate reports that another student at school is connected to a social media account that has posted threats targeting the school. A review of the account finds posts with pictures of weapons, discussions of grievances justifying violence, and indicators the author may be suicidal. The posts do not include specific details of planned violence but do carry an increasingly urgent and desperate tone. The student has also become increasingly isolated at school, and their grades have dropped. No information other than the classmate’s word connects the student to the account.
Scene P | High | Secondary: a hallway fight where an aggressor shouted “see you tomorrow for another
P | High | Secondary | A fight breaks out in the hallway during passing time, and student witnesses reported hearing one of the aggressors shout, “see you tomorrow for another round,” and the bullied student replying, “Fine. This ends tomorrow.” The incident involves a student who has a history of being bullied and was caught brandishing a knife (which they said they needed “to try to get all of them to stop”) last school year. An investigation determined that there were unsecured firearms in the family home.
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