School threat assessment toolkit now available to schools for violence prevention

University of Michigan, University of Virginia partner on effort to keep schools safe. A new toolkit designed to support U.S. schools' violence prevention efforts has been published by the National Center for School Safety at the University of Michigan. The toolkit is designed to help schools in their efforts to implement evidence-based methods to assess and respond to threats, prevent problem situations from escalating and avoid overreacting to threats that are not serious, all while protecting students' rights. Co-developed by University of Virginia professors Dewey Cornell and Jennifer Maeng , the toolkit features an emphasis on ensuring threat assessment protocols are implemented fairly and equitably for students of marginalized groups, especially students of color and students with disabilities. The UVA professors collaborated with and received guidance from the National Center for School Safety , which is housed within U-M's Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention and serves as the Bureau of Justice Assistance Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence National Training and Technical Assistance Center. "Following the example set in Virginia, more and more states are requiring schools to use a violence prevention strategy called behavioral threat assessment,- said Cornell, UVA professor of education. "More than 60% of U.S. schools now report having a threat assessment team.