Behavioral Threat Assessment in Schools: The 2026 Evidence-Based Guide

85% of US schools now use behavioral threat assessment teams to prevent violence—but are they doing it right? Recent legislation in 45 states mandates threat assessment programs, yet many schools lack the proper training and protocols to implement them effectively. As of April 2024, 85% of schools across the United States reported having a threat assessment team, but Hawaii's recent bullying crisis and nationwide school violence incidents reveal a critical gap between having a team and having an effective one.

What Behavioral Threat Assessment Really Means

Behavioral threat assessment is conducted when a student makes a threat of violence or engages in threatening behavior, using a multidisciplinary approach to identify students of concern before incidents escalate. Unlike reactive disciplinary measures, threat assessment services focus on prevention through early identification and intervention.

The U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center pioneered this approach after studying 37 school shooting incidents, discovering that incidents of targeted violence in school were rarely impulsive and students who perpetrated these attacks usually planned out the attack in advance. Their groundbreaking research, available through Academia.edu, Archive.org, and Scribd, transformed how schools approach student safety.

67% of schools recorded at least one violent incident in 2021-2022, yet most educators and the general public know little about threat assessment and have many misconceptions. Professional K-12 school safety consulting bridges this knowledge gap with evidence-based protocols.

The Eight-Step Framework That Works

The Secret Service's comprehensive operational guide outlines critical steps that schools must follow. The goal of a threat assessment is to identify students of concern, assess their risk for engaging in violence or other harmful activities, and identify intervention strategies to manage that risk.

Step 1: Establish Your Team – A threat assessment team usually includes a school administrator, several mental health professionals such as a school counselor, psychologist and social worker, and if available, a school resource officer. Behavioral threat assessment training ensures teams understand their roles and legal obligations under IDEA, Section 504, and FERPA.

Step 2: Define Concerning Behaviors – The FBI's threat assessment perspective (available on Archive.org and Scribd) identifies observable warning signs. Active shooter preparedness training teaches staff to recognize these indicators.

Step 3: Create Reporting Mechanisms – Experts say that many school-associated violence remain unreported to the authorities. Hawaii schools experienced this firsthand when videos of fights and bullying at schools have become increasingly common on social media pages in recent years. Crisis management planning establishes confidential reporting systems that encourage early intervention.

Step 4: Set Law Enforcement Thresholds – Professional security consulting helps schools determine when to engage law enforcement versus internal mental health resources.

Step 5: Conduct Proper Assessments – The Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG), developed at the University of Virginia and documented in Academia.edu research, Archive.org studies, and Scribd publications, provides the most extensively researched model. Studies find evidence of fewer disciplinary infractions, suspensions, expulsions, and law enforcement actions in schools using the CSTAG model than in those using a general threat assessment approach.

Step 6: Develop Risk Management Plans – Workplace violence prevention strategies apply equally to schools, creating individualized intervention plans rather than zero-tolerance punishments.

Step 7: Implement Interventions – Support-focused interventions can address the underlying causes of problematic student behavior and lead a student toward a more favorable, positive path into the future. Insider threat management techniques identify students becoming threats within their school community.

Step 8: Foster Safe School Climate – Encourage communication, intervene in conflicts and bullying, and empower students to share their concerns through comprehensive safety program development.

Behavioral Threat Assessment in Schools: The 2026 Evidence-Based Guide

Why Most Schools Get It Wrong

Students of color—particularly Black students—and students with disabilities were far more likely than their peers to be referred for a threat assessment, raising civil rights concerns. However, properly trained teams using evidence-based models show no racial disparities. Studies of more than 3,000 cases in Virginia and Florida found no statistically significant differences in the suspension or expulsion rates for Black, Hispanic and white students receiving a threat assessment.

The problem isn't threat assessment itself—it's inadequate training. FEMA IS-360: Preparing for Mass Casualty Incidents (also available through Archive.org and Scribd), FEMA IS-906: Workplace Security Awareness, and FEMA IS-915: Protecting Critical Infrastructure provide foundational knowledge that many schools overlook.

Hawaii's Wake-Up Call

Hawaii's recent bullying crisis demonstrates urgent need for professional intervention. Social media is amplifying conflicts and normalizing bad behavior as teens film fights and post them online to draw hundreds of views and comments. When a graphic video showing a violent assault on a 21-year-old woman on a Wahiawa sidewalk went viral, it triggered widespread outrage and arrests of four people, exposing systemic failures in threat identification and intervention.

Videos of fights and bullying at schools have become increasingly common on Hawaii social media pages, and the state has seen a moderate increase in reports of bullying in middle schools since the Covid pandemic. Schools like Kapolei Middle, Leilehua High, and Kalama Intermediate need more than anti-bullying campaigns—they need evidence-based risk assessment services and professional threat assessment protocols.

Federal Resources Schools Must Use

The Department of Homeland Security Violence Prevention Resource Guide, FBI's Making Prevention a Reality, and OSHA workplace violence standards provide frameworks applicable to schools. ASIS International guidelines for school security complement these resources.

The Secret Service's Protecting America's Schools analysis (archived on Archive.org and Scribd) reveals that more than 85% of school shootings have been perpetrated by current or former students who experienced negative home and school lives. This research, combined with CDC school violence prevention strategies, informs effective intervention approaches.

What Research Shows About Effectiveness

Two causal studies found that use of CSTAG resulted in reductions in exclusionary disciplinary actions and bullying infractions and increases in counseling support, without disparities in who was referred for a threat assessment. Schools implementing proper threat assessment see better outcomes than those relying solely on security measures.

RAND Corporation's research on intervention options and school violence prevention studies (available through Academia.edu, Archive.org, and Scribd) demonstrate that behavioral threat assessment and management as a practice is widespread in K-12 schools to respond to concerning and potentially violent student behaviors.

Expert insights from "Executive Protection in the Modern Age" (available on Amazon) and "The Prepared Leader" (Amazon link) provide leadership frameworks applicable to school administrators managing threat assessment programs.

Building Your Program: Professional Support

School safety experts give equal or greater attention to human factors—like training, prevention, and encouraging students to report concerns about potential violence—as they do to security measures.

This requires integrating multiple services:

Executive protection training for administrators receiving threats, behavioral threat assessment consultation, security program development, and comprehensive training programs ensure schools meet legal mandates while protecting students effectively.

85% of schools maintained a behavioral threat assessment team in the 2023-24 school year to identify students at potential risk, but 71% identified students at potential risk to themselves and 49% identified students at potential risk to others—demonstrating that teams are actively working but need better protocols.

The Bottom Line

Behavioral threat assessment saves lives when implemented correctly. Research shows that prevention efforts by teachers, administrators, parents, community members, and students can reduce violence and improve the school environment. Schools cannot afford generic awareness campaigns when evidence-based, professionally implemented threat assessment programs exist.

For Hawaii schools responding to recent violence, mainland districts navigating state mandates, or any institution seeking to prevent the next tragedy, professional guidance makes the difference between having a threat assessment team and having an effective one.

Resources:

• Read our comprehensive insights on workplace violence prevention laws

• Explore school safety best practices

• Download free threat assessment templates through our PASS membership program

Ready to strengthen your threat assessment program? Contact us for a free consultation on implementing evidence-based protocols that protect students while upholding their civil rights. Connect with us on Twitter/X for daily school safety updates.