Risk management options

If these behaviors are observed or reported to the Team, schools can offer resources and supports in the form of mentoring and counseling, mental health care, tutoring, or social and family services.

vast majority of incidents or concerns that are likely to be reported can be handled by school personnel using school or community resources.

Using the themes to identify where the student might be struggling will help the Team identify the most appropriate resources.

Keep in mind, there is no need to wait until the Team has completed all interviews or addressed every theme before taking action. As soon as an area for intervention is identified, suitable management strategies should be enacted.

Understanding motive further allows the Team to develop management strategies that can direct the student away from violent choices.

If possible, connect the student with more positive, prosocial role models who discourage violence and identify more acceptable ways to solve problems.

The Team could also use activities or groups the student wants to take part in as motivation for the student to engage in positive and constructive behaviors, such as attending class, completing assignments, and adhering to a conduct or behavior code.

options Once the Team has completed a thorough assessment of the student, it can evaluate whether the student is at risk for self-harm or harming someone else at school.

Remember, the Team is not attempting to predict with certainty if violence will happen. Instead, evaluate the presence of factors that indicate violence might be a possibility.

Teams can then develop risk management strategies that reduce the student’s risk for engaging in violence and make positive outcomes for the student more likely.

Each student who comes to the Team’s attention will require an individualized management plan. The resources and supports the student needs will differ depending on the information gathered during the assessment.

Often, the Team will determine that the student is not currently at risk for engaging in violence, but requires monitoring or is in need of guidance to cope with losses, develop resiliency to overcome setbacks, or learn more appropriate strategies to manage emotions.

Sometimes management involves suspension or expulsion from school. When this is necessary, Teams and school administrators should consider how it might affect their ability to monitor the student.

Removing a student from school does not eliminate the risk to the school community. Several school attacks have been carried out by former students who had been removed from the school or aged out of their former school.

A suspended or expelled student might become isolated from positive peer interactions or supportive adult relationships at school.

Teams should develop strategies to stay connected to the suspended or expelled student to determine whether the student’s situation is deteriorating or the behaviors of concern are escalating so that they can respond appropriately.

Management plans should remain in place until the Team is no longer concerned about the student or the risk for violence. This is accomplished by addressing the following basic elements that can reduce the likelihood a student will engage in violence and provide support and resources for those in need.

Resources to assist the student could take the form of peer support programs or therapeutic counseling to enhance social learning or emotional competency, life skills classes, tutoring in specific academic subjects, or mental health care.

Most programs and supports will be available within the school, but the Team may need to also access community resources to assist with managing the student.

Make efforts to address the safety of any potential targets by altering or improving security procedures for schools or individuals and providing guidance on how to avoid the student of concern.

Create a situation that is less prone to violence by asking the family or law enforcement to block the student’s access to weapons, while also connecting the student to positive, prosocial models of behavior.

Another option may involve removing the student from campus for a period of time, while maintaining a relationship with the student and the student’s family.

Remove or redirect the student’s motive. Every student’s motive will be different, and motives can be redirected in a variety of ways.

Reduce the effect of stressors by providing resources and supports that help the student manage and overcome negative events, setbacks, and challenges.

The administrator reported that he would have alerted their school resource officer and local sheriff’s office if he had safety concerns about the student, but instead the school worked with community services to provide access to resources and supports, including transportation services for his father to his medical appointments so the student could attend tutoring sessions, and counseling and support services that would assist the student after his father’s passing.

The school also worked with the student and his father to develop a plan for the student to return to campus and remain on track to graduate.