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?
BTAM in K–12 schools is framed as an alternative to exclusionary school discipline, which has been recognized as risking long-term harms to students and causing other damage to a school’s community (Huang and Cornell, 2021; Cornell et al., 2018; Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports, 2023).
cite page 66 Ch 9: How Do BTAM Teams Develop Intervention Plans?
Our survey provides insight into whether and how schools with BTAM programs in place report that they use exclusionary practices such as suspension, expulsion, and referral to law enforcement as part of their threat management processes.
cite page 66 Ch 9: How Do BTAM Teams Develop Intervention Plans?
Although principals’ survey responses suggest that BTAM teams rarely use exclusionary discipline measures—especially at the elementary level—they show that teams do still use these options (see Figure 9.1).
cite page 66 Ch 9: How Do BTAM Teams Develop Intervention Plans?
Sample (N = 1379) · Teams answering exclusionary discipline and arrest/prosecution questions (Figure 9.2)
Thirty percent of principals reported their BTAM teams never use exclusionary discipline (i.e., they never expel students, place them in different schools, or suspend them for a month or more).
cite page 66 Ch 9: How Do BTAM Teams Develop Intervention Plans?
Sample (N = 1379) · Teams answering exclusionary discipline and arrest/prosecution questions (Figure 9.2)
Meanwhile, 46 percent of principals said their BTAM teams rarely use exclusionary discipline; 21 percent reported doing so sometimes; 3 percent reported frequently turning to exclusionary discipline; and 1 percent said they always employ such measures.
cite page 66 Ch 9: How Do BTAM Teams Develop Intervention Plans?
Our results also suggest that exclusionary discipline practices are more common than referrals to law enforcement (i.e., arresting or prosecuting students for their threatening or concerning behavior).
cite page 66 Ch 9: How Do BTAM Teams Develop Intervention Plans?
Sample (N = 1379) · Teams answering exclusionary discipline and arrest/prosecution questions (Figure 9.2)
Forty percent of principals said their BTAM teams never refer students to law enforcement for arrest or prosecution, and another 40 percent said they rarely make such referrals.
cite page 66 Ch 9: How Do BTAM Teams Develop Intervention Plans?
Sample (N = 1379) · Teams answering exclusionary discipline and arrest/prosecution questions (Figure 9.2)
Sixteen percent said they sometimes did so, and 4 percent and 1 percent said they either frequently or always referred cases to law enforcement for arrest or prosecution, respectively.
cite page 66 Ch 9: How Do BTAM Teams Develop Intervention Plans?
Although it is concerning that a handful of schools reported engaging in such practices frequently or every time a case is referred to the BTAM team, we do not have information about the size of teams’ caseloads or about the nature of specific cases.
cite page 66 Ch 9: How Do BTAM Teams Develop Intervention Plans?
Overall, our data demonstrate that BTAM teams do not commonly rely on exclusionary practices as the means of intervening with students who display behaviors that elicit concerns for the safety of themselves and others.
cite page 66 Ch 9: How Do BTAM Teams Develop Intervention Plans?
Our data also show that elementary schools—whose BTAM teams likely deal with relatively less serious student behavior compared with secondary schools—were particularly likely to say they never use exclusionary discipline for students referred to a BTAM team.
cite page 66 Ch 9: How Do BTAM Teams Develop Intervention Plans?
Elementary school principals were also significantly more likely to say they never refer students to law enforcement for arrest or prosecution, as shown in Figure 9.2.
cite page 66 Ch 9: How Do BTAM Teams Develop Intervention Plans?
However, although these practices are less common in elementary schools compared with middle and high schools, some elementary schools said that their BTAM teams have expelled or referred students to law enforcement with some regularity.
cite page 66 Ch 9: How Do BTAM Teams Develop Intervention Plans?
See Chapter 11 for additional analyses about whether BTAM assessments and interventions are working as expected in practice.
cite page 66 Ch 9: How Do BTAM Teams Develop Intervention Plans?
However, schools might suspend students for shorter amounts of time that still might be considered exclusionary.
cite page 66 Ch 9: How Do BTAM Teams Develop Intervention Plans?
Find the Perfect Training Class For You
