Course Description:

What is School Threat Assessment?

Threat assessment began as a law enforcement activity to protect public figures and prevent workplace violence. However, our model of school threat assessment has been adapted to reflect the goals of educating students and fostering their healthy social-emotional development. School threat assessment is a problem-solving approach to violence prevention that focuses on helping students in distress and resolving problems before they escalate into violence. Teams want to avoid over-reacting to threats that are not serious yet take appropriate protective action in cases that are serious. School threat assessment involves both assessment and intervention, since threatening behavior often signals a need for support services which can be short-term or ongoing. As our research has shown, very few cases require long-term suspension, arrest, or criminal charges.

Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG) is an evidence-based model of school threat assessment based on 20+ years of research and development. Under the CSTAG model, school-based multidisciplinary teams take a problem-solving approach by identifying students in need of assistance before their conflicts escalate into violence. This model replaces a zero-tolerance approach with a more flexible case-by-case evaluation process that considers the individual circumstances and context of student behavior. CSTAG teams triage cases by gathering relevant information and using a decision tree to distinguish transient threats that ca be easily resolved from substantive threats that pose a serious risk of violence.

Course Link: 
https://bit.ly/3y2uIjH

CE Value (credits): 7
CE Type: Standard,

Sponsor Name:
Washtenaw ISD

Contact Information:
Jessica Carruba
734-499-4810 x1273
jcarruba@washtenawisd.org

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