Behavioral Threat Assessment Management
In 2013, the Virginia General Assembly enacted legislation (Code of Virginia § 9.1-184) to enhance school safety by mandating threat assessment teams to support every Virginia public school. Threat assessment in Virginia is a fact-based process relying primarily on an appraisal of behaviors to identify potentially dangerous or violent situations, and to address them in a professional and timely manner.
The goal of the threat assessment process is to be preventative. A threat assessment focuses principally upon the following four factors:
Identifying individuals whose behavior is threatening, aberrant or concerning;
- Gathering relevant information (through lawful and ethical means) and investigating the situation;
- Assessing the individual(s) and the situation; and
- Managing the individual(s) and situation to prevent violence.
Resources from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services are linked below.
Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services Parent Video
Parent Resources
- K-12 Threat Assessment Overview in Virginia
- FAQs for K-12 Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management
- FCPS Regulation 224R - Threat Assessment Teams