43 claims on pp. 58–130 (fact 36, statement 3, evidence 1, conjecture 2, definition 1).
When a case is referred to a BTAM team, the behavioral threat assessment component of BTAM involves gathering information to determine whether a student who engaged in concerning behavior may pose a risk of harm.
Sample (N = 1394) · Teams answering how the team assesses seriousness during meetings
common data across all cases (the sum of the bottom two rows).
Why inferred The sentence crosses a page break: this quote is the page 59 part and the sentence begins on page 58 (claim p058-12). Full sentence (pages 58–59): “However, 79 percent of teams are using a common meeting structure (the sum of the bottom three rows in Table 8.1), and 51 percent are collecting common data across all cases (the sum of the bottom two rows).”
Our survey results suggest that BTAM teams use a variety of information sources to assess the risk of harm posed by students referred to the team.
Different BTAM models recommend collecting and using different types of information, but virtually all recommend broad data collection and integrating information from many sources to build the best understanding of student behavior.
We provided principals with a list of 14 potential data sources in our survey, ranging from interviews with students, school staff, and parents to reviewing discipline, academic, and other school records; law enforcement records; and social media accounts for referred students.
We asked principals which sources their BTAM teams rely on to conduct behavioral threat assessments and how often they use these sources.
As shown in Figure 8.1, principals’ responses suggest that BTAM teams use a variety of data sources to inform their assessments of risk level.
Teams also use many of those sources frequently.
Sample (N = 1395) · Teams answering sources-of-information question
School BTAM teams rely first and foremost on interviews with the referred student to make decisions about potential risk of harm: 73 percent of principals indicated that their BTAM teams use this specific information source every time a student is referred to the BTAM process.
Sample (N = 1395) · Teams answering sources-of-information question
Interviews with . . . Student | 73 | 26 | 1
Sample (N = 1395) · Teams answering sources-of-information question
Witnesses^a | 64 | 34 | 1
Sample (N = 1395) · Teams answering sources-of-information question
Teacher/school staff knowledgeable about student | 57 | 43 | 0
Sample (N = 1395) · Teams answering sources-of-information question
Parents or guardians | 55 | 44 | 1
Sample (N = 1395) · Teams answering sources-of-information question
Potential target of a threat | 53 | 45 | 2
Sample (N = 1395) · Teams answering sources-of-information question
Records: Discipline records^b | 60 | 40 | 0
Sample (N = 1395) · Teams answering sources-of-information question
Special education records | 58 | 41 | 1
Sample (N = 1395) · Teams answering sources-of-information question
Academic records | 43 | 55 | 2
Sample (N = 1395) · Teams answering sources-of-information question
Other in-district schools a student attended | 38 | 59 | 2
Sample (N = 1395) · Teams answering sources-of-information question
Other out-of-district schools a student attended | 29 | 68 | 3
Sample (N = 1395) · Teams answering sources-of-information question
Outside medical organizations | 20 | 75 | 5
Sample (N = 1395) · Teams answering sources-of-information question
Law enforcement records | 17 | 64 | 19
Sample (N = 1395) · Teams answering sources-of-information question
Outside governmental organizations | 15 | 74 | 11
Sample (N = 1395) · Teams answering sources-of-information question
Student’s social media/online footprint^c | 15 | 77 | 8
NOTE: This figure depicts response data from the following survey question: “When a student is referred to your BTAM team for concerning behavior, how often does your team use the following sources of information to assess the level of risk posed by the student?” (n = 1,395).
Sample (N = 1395) · Teams answering sources-of-information question
victims—every time they assess a student’s risk.
Why inferred The sentence crosses a page break: this quote is the page 60 part and the sentence begins on page 59. Full sentence (pages 59–60): “Half (or more) of principals also reported their teams use interviews with other people—witnesses, teachers, parents or guardians, and potential victims—every time they assess a student’s risk.”
Fewer principals indicated that their teams use various types of records in every threat assessment, but when they do, discipline records, special education records, and academic records top the list of records BTAM teams use most often.
Sample (N = 1395) · Teams answering sources-of-information question
Somewhat surprisingly, only 14 percent of principals said their BTAM teams review students’ publicly available social media accounts or online footprint for every case.
The vast majority of schools check these accounts at least sometimes, though not in all cases.
Sample (N = 1395) · Teams answering sources-of-information question
Interview with the student | 0.6 | 2.0 | 7.8 | 16.1 | 73.4
Sample (N = 1395) · Teams answering sources-of-information question
Interview with witnesses (e.g., peers, staff who witnessed behavior) | 1.1 | 1.6 | 9.6 | 23.3 | 64.5
Sample (N = 1395) · Teams answering sources-of-information question
Interview with potential target of a threat | 1.9 | 3.1 | 16.1 | 25.8 | 53.1
Sample (N = 1395) · Teams answering sources-of-information question
Interview with parents or guardians | 0.8 | 2.3 | 14.8 | 27.3 | 54.7
Sample (N = 1395) · Teams answering sources-of-information question
Interview with teacher or other school staff knowledgeable about the student | 0.4 | 1.6 | 9.1 | 32.5 | 56.5
Sample (N = 1395) · Teams answering sources-of-information question
Review student’s publicly available social media or online footprint | 8.1 | 18.7 | 34.1 | 23.9 | 15.3
Sample (N = 1395) · Teams answering sources-of-information question
Discipline records (including but not limited to history of prior threats) | 0.4 | 1.7 | 10.5 | 27.5 | 59.8
Sample (N = 1395) · Teams answering sources-of-information question
Academic records | 1.6 | 5.8 | 21.9 | 27.7 | 43.1
Sample (N = 1395) · Teams answering sources-of-information question
Special education records | 0.8 | 1.8 | 14.9 | 24.1 | 58.4
Sample (N = 1395) · Teams answering sources-of-information question
Records from other schools a student attended previously inside your school district | 2.2 | 6.0 | 26.2 | 27.1 | 38.4
Sample (N = 1395) · Teams answering sources-of-information question
Records from other schools a student attended previously outside your school district | 3.1 | 10.8 | 30.5 | 26.6 | 29.1
Sample (N = 1395) · Teams answering sources-of-information question
Records from outside medical organizations (e.g., mental health service providers) | 5.4 | 14.7 | 37.2 | 22.8 | 19.9
Sample (N = 1395) · Teams answering sources-of-information question
Records from outside governmental organizations (e.g., social services agencies; courts) | 10.9 | 21.0 | 34.0 | 18.6 | 15.4
Sample (N = 1395) · Teams answering sources-of-information question
Law enforcement records | 19.2 | 20.9 | 28.1 | 15.2 | 16.6
Sample (N = 1395) · Teams answering sources-of-information question
Other (please specify) | 55.9 | 9.9 | 13.3 | 9.1 | 11.8
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