Comprehensive School and Workplace Safety, LLC - Violence Prevention Programs

Student Threat Assessment Teams

Sun, 26 Feb 2006 14:45:06 -0800

Student Threat Assessment Teams are a collaborative multi-disciplinary approach which are recommended by the U.S. Department of Education
A lot of myths and questions abound regarding threat assessment teams. Is this about profiling? What does threat assessment mean? Do we really need to have a threat assessment team? What actually does a threat assessment team do? Years of experience with the threat assessment team process have shown the essence of the threat assessment team process is reconnecting disenfranchised students.
In 2002, the Safe School Initiative was released by the U.S. Dept. of Education and U.S. Secret Service; it was re-issued again in 2004. This extensive study examined 37 incidents of school targeted violence that occurred in the United States. Ten key findings were published from this study, the two highest on the list were:

“Incidents of targeted violence at school rarely were sudden, impulsive acts.”
“Prior to most incidents, other people knew about the attacker’s idea and/or plan to attack.”

Information about a school shooting was “knowable” by key stakeholders and the sharing of this “knowable” information could have helped prevent an attack. The U.S. Dept. of Education and the U.S. Secret Service recommend all schools and districts should implement a team process for identifying, assessing and managing students who may pose a threat of targeted violence in schools.
A threat assessment team consists of stakeholders from the building, district, and community levels who work together to address students who make or pose threats of targeted violence. This collaborative, multi-disciplinary team process brings the various perspectives of those with “protective responsibilities” (law enforcement, mental health, and education) to the same table ensuring no critical information is over-looked or left out.
The threat assessment team will use a four-pronged approach to identify and then increase protective factors, as well as identify and then work to remove risk factors for the student involved.

personality factors
social dynamics
family dynamics
school climate

When should staff be notified of a threat or potential threat? When should a school administrator notify parents and/or the community? What can you share and with whom? Notification of a threat of violence may be mandated by your state. School district and school personnel should know what your state’s requirements are for notification. In Washington State for example, school administrators are required to make notification with in a "timely manner".
Knowing Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) exemptions will assist administrators on how to make a proper notification. One of the FERPA exemptions for sharing information is having a threat assessment team in place.
The process of developing a threat assessment team begins at the school district level by networking with school and community stakeholders. Team members should be carefully selected considering those who are good communicators and have a working knowledge of law enforcement, mental health and education systems. The most effective people to have on your team will possess these qualities and have the ability to be “boundary spanners” or “connectors” between these systems by increasing the likelihood of getting the needed information swiftly.
The process of creating a threat assessment can be a simple process. In my experience school districts are successful in one of two ways: selecting a staff person to coordinate the creation of the team or hiring an experienced consultant who will facilitate team creation. If choose to do this yourself you will need a staff person who is skilled in networking, project management and facilitation. This person should attend trainings in threat assessment team development and consult with districts who have implemented this program for best practices.
If you choose to hire a consultant , look for expertise and years of experience in one of the critical areas of law enforcement, education or mental health. The consultant should have experience and training in threat assessment team development.
Threats of violence are happening at our schools every day; some are harmless; some are deadly. Does your school know how to determine the difference between a student who makes a threat to kill and one who actually poses a threat to kill? Having a threat assessment team in your school and district will help you understand, manage and resolve critical situations in your school.
Martin Speckmaier, School Safety Consultant is a law enforcement veteran and school safety expert who specializes in the development and training of student threat assessment teams for schools, districts, and school communities. Schools consult with Speckmaier to identify the strengths and unique needs of their community and facilitate the implementation of an effective threat assessment team process. The successful threat assessment teams Speckmaier has created have effectively re-connected disenfranchised students, implemented a standardized student safety assessment process and provided an important part of a comprehensive violence prevention and reduction program for their school district.

Threat Assessment Teams in the K-20 Campus Setting

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 12:09:37 -0700

How to Utilize Existing Strengths to Keep Your Campus Safe

Martin Speckmaier, Managing Member of Comprehensive School & Workplace Safety, LLC will be presenting at the Washington State K-20 School Safety Forum June 18-19, 2007. Held at the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center, “Developing Safety Plans that Promote Violence Prevention” is an opportunity for Washington State educators to hear from national and local leaders in school safety and violence prevention in our schools.

In his presentation, Speckmaier will discuss Threat Assessment Teams, an inter-disciplinary, multi-agency approach of working with at-risk youth in schools and the importance of connecting school district with community college and/or university threat assessment team processes. Speckmaier will focus on plausible solutions to common barriers and best practices for the utilizing a threat assessment process. He will address the types of threats educators must be prepared for and current issues facing students today. Topics will also include Washington State Threat Notification Law, FERPA, the Clery Act, Safe School Initiative, Tarasoff Warning, HIPAA, and LEU records.

Washington State Law on Notification of Threat of Violence or Harm

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 14:45:03 -0800

RCW 28A.320.128
Notice and disclosure policies — Threats of violence — Student conduct — Immunity for good faith notice — Penalty. (1)

By September 1, 2003, each school district board of directors shall adopt a policy that addresses the following issues:      (a) Procedures for providing notice of threats of violence or harm to the student or school employee who is the subject of the threat. The policy shall define "threats of violence or harm";
     (b) Procedures for disclosing information that is provided to the school administrators about a student's conduct, including but not limited to the student's prior disciplinary records, official juvenile court records, and history of violence, to classroom teachers, school staff, and school security who, in the judgment of the principal, should be notified; and
     (c) Procedures for determining whether or not any threats or conduct established in the policy may be grounds for suspension or expulsion of the student.
     (2) The superintendent of public instruction, in consultation with educators and representatives of law enforcement, classified staff, and organizations with expertise in violence prevention and intervention, shall adopt a model policy that includes the issues listed in subsection (1) of this section by January 1, 2003. The model policy shall be posted on the superintendent of public instruction's web site. The school districts, in drafting their own policies, shall review the model policy.
     (3) School districts, school district boards of directors, school officials, and school employees providing notice in good faith as required and consistent with the board's policies adopted under this section are immune from any liability arising out of such notification.
     (4) A person who intentionally and in bad faith or maliciously, knowingly makes a false notification of a threat under this section is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable under RCW 9A.20.021.

[2002 c 206 § 1.]

Protecting Students Against Violence - Newspaper Article

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 14:13:32 -0800

Protecting students against violence
By LAURA WILCOX
November 15, 2006
The Mulkilteo Beacon
Olympic View Middle School is ahead of the game when it comes to student safety.
“The recommendations I make to most schools are already in place at Olympic View,” school resource consultant Martin Speckmaier told a recent Safety Forum at the school.
Consultant Speckmaier of Comprehensive School Safety, LLC – which provides advice and training to schools – says the latest and most alarming school-specific safety issues include weapons, bullies, targeted violence and a resurgence of youth gangs.
The forum’s purpose was to examine ways to help at-risk kids before it’s too late. In the last decade alone the number of targeted acts of violence – like the Columbine High School shooting in 1999 – has risen dramatically.
“The No. 1 finding in these cases is that the kids are not crazy and didn’t just snap,” Speckmaier said. “The act is an understandable – but certainly not condonable – reaction to risk factors in their lives.”
Risk factors include being bullied or harassed, not having meaningful adult relationships, not having an adult role model, and not having a real connection with school, family and society.
“This is what it’s all about – getting together before something happens,” the consultant said. He also warns that these risk factors can lead to another problem: gang involvement.
Resurgent gang activity has been a fact of life in recent years. Why?
Consultant Speckmaier said that when gangs were big in the 1980s, law enforcement put many of the members behind bars.
Result: decreased gang activity. However, he adds, those same gang members are now getting back out.
And with more immigration and what he calls “gentrification,” the poorer people are pushing into the suburbs.
So why might your child be at risk?
“Gang activity looks exciting for the some kids,” he said. “It’s glamorized.”
Before becoming a school resource consultant, Martin Speckmaier served as a police officer for 20 years, retiring in 2005. His police work included sexual assault investigations and criminal and narcotics investigations.
“I used to have a ‘whack ‘em and stack ‘em’ attitude,” he said. “But after my work with several high schools, I now believe in prevention and intervention.”
Mayor Joe Marine, who was also present at the forum, thanked the parents in attendance for being there, “Your active participation is very commendable. It’s too bad the parents who need to be here aren’t here.”
The mayor also encouraged parents to talk to each other, “It’s not often people are caught in the act, but because a neighbor saw or found something,” he said.
Speckmaier said middle school is the perfect time to target troubled youth and reconnect them.
Martin Speckmaier can be contacted at (206) 853-2593.
The Comprehensive School Safety website is at www.school-safety-intervention.org.

ESCALATING VIOLENCE IN OUR SCHOOLS

Tue, 03 Oct 2006 23:36:02 -0700

A comprehensive approach is needed to deal with external threats at schools
Schools are soft targets. Like we’ve seen in many school shootings these past seven years and again recently in Bailey, Colorado and the Amish school community in Nickel Plains, PA the path of least resistance is first choice of hostile intruders. Placing metal detectors in schools in and of itself is not the solution. A more comprehensive approach to dealing with external threats is needed.There are no quick and easy solutions to ensure our children will be safe at school. Yet key stakeholders from the school and its community must come together to discuss and implement strategies for reducing violence in our schools. Considerations to immediately address include:

Access control -.lock access points, route visitors to the main office
Train staff how to appropriately challenge unknown visitors
Identification badges for visitors only after verification and access approved
Full-time law enforcement (School Resource Officer) on campus
Trained Campus Security on campus
Crisis response training and drills for staff and students - regularly

Schools may also want to conduct a School Safety Assessment. A completed assessment will identify areas of vulnerability and strength; review safety and crisis preparedness policies; require interviews with school administrative staff, security personnel, local business owners and law enforcement; administer and analyze data from Student and Staff Climate Surveys and observe student and community behavior during and after school hours on and around campus.