Overview
Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management (BTAM): Best Practices for a Defensible Process and Special Education Considerations
This workshop covers legally defensible, FERPA, and special education law with discussion on how to make your school/district’s BTAM process more legally defensible and the considerations necessary to ensure your threat assessment processes do not violate special education protocols and procedures. Current research and recommendations will be discussed with an emphasis on the critical importance of establishing multi-disciplinary threat assessment teams, addressing bias, equity, and disproportionality within the BTAM process, and how to address the systemic barriers that complicate information sharing, documentation, follow-up planning and supports, and implementation fidelity. Federal laws also require the “Direct Threat Standard” to be met for any threat assessment that is conducted on students receiving specialized services or accommodations. IDEA, 504, and ADA Title II considerations that must be addressed within the threat assessment process to ensure districts are complying with federal law will be presented. Best practice guidance regarding parent permission vs notification, information sharing, discipline, and change in programming and/or placement decisions will also be discussed. In addition, knowledge gained in serving as an expert witness in court cases involving threat assessment, targeted violence, and suicidal ideation will be highlighted
Participants will:
Learn how to build a high-quality behavioral threat assessment and management program utilizing best practice strategies to build a legally defensible process.
Understand how to conduct a threat assessment using strategies that increase equity while decreasing bias and disproportionality.
Learn the clear distinction, yet complementary aspects, between threat assessment and suicide risk assessment, and special education policies and procedures
Be provided with best practice guidance regarding parent permission vs notification, information sharing, discipline, change in programming and/or placement decisions, and implementation fidelity
Learn how IDEA, 504, and ADA Title II “Direct Threat Standard” intersect with threat assessment and the considerations needed to ensure districts are complying with federal law.
Identify the critical actions that need to be taken in the threat assessment process if a change of placement or programming is to be recommended.